Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said dozens of culprits involved in the Rawalpindi tragedy occurred on Ashura‚ had been arrested.
Replying to points of order in the National Assembly‚ the minister assured the House that strict action would be taken against police officers for their negligence.
He said the judicial commission constituted by the Punjab government to probe into the tragedy was speedily working and fulfilling its responsibilities. He said recommendations of the committee formed by the provincial government had been received.
The minister said law and order was a provincial subject‚ however‚ the federal government was extending cooperation to the provincial governments in this regard.
Nisar appreciated the clerics of various schools of thought who demonstrated patience and tolerance after the tragedy.
He said there were threats of terrorist activities during the first ten days of Muharram‚ however‚ no untoward incident occurred due to coordination among federal government‚ provincial governments‚ intelligence agencies and law and enforcement agencies.
The interior minister said efforts were being made to develop a code of conduct and consultation with clerics of every school of thought was underway, adding that sufficient progress had been made in this connection. He said the Punjab government had taken the responsibility of compensating for damages in the Rawalpindi tragedy. He said construction work on the mosque would begin soon.
Regarding removal of NADRA chairman‚ the interior minister said the matter was in the court. However‚ he assured the House that the verdict of the court would be fully implemented.
He said Tariq Malik was appointed NADRA general manager without any advertisement. Later‚ he was made chairman of NADRA in relaxation of rules.
Nisar said the NADRA chairman was also reluctant to get audit of the accounts of the organisation. He assured the House that the in future, the NADRA chairman would be selected under NADRA ordinance.
To a point of order raised by Imran Khan‚ he said verification of finger printing was responsibility of election tribunals, not the government.
Responding to points of order raised by Nawab Yusuf Talpur and Lal Chand regarding kidnapping of Ghunsham Das from Umarkot‚ the interior minister said though law and order was a provincial subject the federal government would extend full cooperation for his recovery.
Earlier‚ Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi criticised the government over removal of NADRA chairman.
They said Malik was removed due to pressure regarding verification of finger printing in one of Lahore constituencies. They demanded government’s point of view in this regard.
Leader of the Opposition Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah also expressed concern over the removal of the NADRA chairman.