‘Intelligence agencies should focus on criminals instead of politicians’

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has advised intelligence agencies to concentrate on collecting data and carrying out surveillance of criminal elements, instead of involving itself in irrelevant issue regarding politicians.
Talking to reporters before the beginning of a session of the provincial assembly on Friday, Sanaullah said the intelligence agencies wasted their time and efforts on “such trivia as taping politicians’ telephone calls”, adding, “had they concentrated on taping telephones and surveillance of terrorists and criminal elements, things would have been rosier”.
He was grateful for the fact that in the future, the intelligence agencies would have to ask for permission of relevant judges before proceeding, adding that “the judiciary and the media will anyway be closely observing any anomaly”, he said.
To a question regarding the appointment of Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood as Punjab governor, Sanaullah said “Mahmood is a very good friend”, adding that his decision to resign was a personal one.
“The PPP is vying for all kinds of wily tactics to manipulate general elections, which also include appointing Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo PPP Punjab president, much to the chagrin of the PPP workers, who have a disdain for such cheap tricks, not in tandem with (late) Benazir Bhutto’s vision,” he said.
He urged the people to vote for single party, as nobody would benefit from a hung parliament.
Referring to Tahirul Qadri’s December 23 public gathering in Lahore, the Punjab law minister said agencies’ ploy to divide the votes of the PML-N, and usher in a hung parliament would flop.