Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the “Stability of Pakistan Convention” organised by the People’s Youth Organisation (PYO) here at Convention Centre on Sunday that the government would constitute an independent commission to probe Abbottabad operation in a day or two. Malik strongly defended Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies, and also announced a cash prize of Rs 5 million for anyone who provided information about the PNS Mehran base assailants.
The interior minister announced amnesty for youngsters from the tribal areas who were compelled by poverty to take part in terrorist activities. He said that many youngsters belonging to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas had been forced to join terrorist organisations because of poverty and unemployment. “We will pardon them in case they surrender unconditionally and will also provide them opportunities to play a positive and constructive role in the progress of Pakistan,” he announced.
He said further that the country was facing the curse of terrorism and terrorists wanted to sabotage the peace of the country. “Terrorists are the enemy of Islam and Pakistan but we will foil every conspiracy against our country and religion,” Rehman said. Seeking an end to criticism of security agencies, Malik said the security agencies were the backbone of the country and for the sake of the stability of the country they must not be criticised.
Severely criticising the speech of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif on Yaum-e-Takbeer, Malik said that those who were observing Yaum-e-Takbeer had forgotten that Pakistan’s nuclear programme was the mission of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
“The PPP-led government will continue Bhutto’s mission,” he said, adding that the so-called supporters of democracy (alluding to PML-N leaders) had totally sidelined the charter of democracy, and now they were trying to take the PPP down with them. Separately, with instructions from the Interior Ministry to probe the deadly terrorist attack on PNS Mehran naval aviation base, the Sindh Home Department formed a joint investigation team (JIT) to ascertain the facts of the incident, Pakistan Today learned on Sunday.
Sources said the investigation team would comprise military intelligence officials, Inter-Services Intelligence personnel, and police, Rangers and Criminal Investigation Department officials. The team had been authorised to conduct raids in the city as well as across the province, sources added. The team would investigate the terrorists’ links as well as the alleged security lapses by Pakistan Navy personnel deployed at PNS Mehran.
The investigation report with initial findings would be presented to the Sindh government within a period of 15 days, they said.
