ISLAMABAD – The Senate was informed on Friday that 2,488 terrorist acts, including a large number of suicide attacks, occurred in the country during 2008-9 and 2009-10, killing 3,169 people.
In a written reply, Interior Minister Rehman Malik informed the Upper House on Friday that 6,540 people sustained injuries terror attacks in the last two years. Malik said during the mentioned period, 606 accused were arrested from across the country for their links with terrorists, with 352 being acquitted by various courts.
Giving a break-up of the attacks, he said 1,663 attacks occurred in Balochistan, 716 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 56 in Sindh, 27 in Punjab, 16 in the federal capital and 10 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Malik said 1,524 people were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 760 and 605 people were killed in Balochistan and Punjab respectively and 134 people were killed in terror incidents in Sindh.
To another question, Malik said 47,185 prohibited bore and 140,194 non-prohibited bore licenses were issued by the Interior Ministry. Malik did not mention the time period in which these licenses were issued, however, an Interior Ministry source told Pakistan Today that the licenses were issued in the last three years. Meanwhile, explaining the procedure laid down for issuance of arms licenses, Malik told the House that after an approval from competent authority, an authorisation letter was issued to NADRA under the signature of a joint secretary.
In another written reply, Malik said during the last three years, four religious organisations were banned per the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. These organisations are Lashkar-e-Islami, Ansarul Islam, Haji Namdar Group and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. While answering a question raised by Senator Buledi, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said the Defence Housing Authority launched six housing projects worth Rs 83 billion during the last three years.
He said these projects were launched in Karcahi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. To another query, he said a restructuring plan for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was being finalised that aimed at improving its efficiency and making the organisation a profit-making entity.
