Terrorists can run but they can’t hide!

• Interior minister says 36,000 terrorists arrested in 10,000 operations since June 2014
• Says arrests made in Safoora Chowarangi incident, people involved are in focus

Vowing to not allow any breathing space to terrorism in his area of influence, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told reporters in a press conference in Karachi on Monday afternoon that as many as 36,000 terrorists have been arrested in 10,000 intelligence-based operations across the country since June 2014 when Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched and the government was working hard to rid the country of terrorists who wanted to “divide the nation”.

Lauding the armed forces and Frontier Corps (FC) for effectively carrying out operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), FATA and Balochistan, the minister briefed the reporters that over 3,000 intelligence-based operations have been carried out since December last year when National Action Plan (NAP) was launched.

“This should give a clear understanding to the people as to how much blasts were stopped and how many lives saved,” the minister boasted, however admitting that the war was not over yet.

He said there is a visible improvement in law and order but warned that those playing with blood have not been completely eliminated because some have been killed or arrested while others have gone into hiding in villages and far flung areas.

“The enemy is targeting softest targets now because of the effectiveness of the operations,” he said, assuring that those targeting innocents will meet their fate.

NOT EASY BUT WE’RE ON IT:

The interior minister said that the war against terrorism and militancy was not an easy one but progress was being made. “It is not a T20 or 50-over match as Pakistan has been facing the menace of terrorism for the last 14 years and no attention was given to deal with it.”

Nisar asked Pakistanis, especially citizens of Karachi, to compare the current quantum of terrorism with one which existed when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government took over in 2013.

“At that time, on average five to seven blasts were taking place across the country on daily basis and now there are no blasts for weeks because of the hard work of security agencies, police and other concerned departments,” he said, continuing to pat his government on the back.

Commenting on extreme anger and hatred for terrorists spreading across the country, the minister said the need to show unity in troubled times “because the enemy wants to create division and disappointment in the country”.

KARACHI‘S LAW AND ORDER:

“Investigations into Safoora Chowrangi incident are progressing well. People involved in Karachi bus attack are in focus and some arrests have been made in this regard, however it would be pre-mature to say that we have reached the actual attackers,” said Nisar, commenting on the massacre of Ismailis.

“Interrogation from the arrested persons is very positive and there are indications that we are on the right track,” the minister said, holding out assurance that the culprits would be brought to book. He emphasised that it was a multi-faceted case and intensive investigation was required to crack it.

Replying to a question about involvement of Indian spy agency RAW in fomenting terrorism in the country, the interior minister said it was premature to say that they had reached a definite conclusion.

“Investigation into Safoora incident are going on three dimensions and three to four arrests made have given some openings,” he said, asking the journalists to show be patient in this regard.

Furthermore, the interior minister said that there were over 300 private agencies working in Karachi employing thousands of personnel.

“Their job is to complement and supplement the work of our civil armed forces but they are not doing the required job. Some of the agencies’ guards were witness to Safoora Chowk incident but they denied even having seen it. The government will review the security agencies’ policy in a transparent way to make them accountable,” he said.

Earlier, the interior minister visited Rangers Headquarters in Karachi where Rangers Director General (DG) Major General Bilal Akbar briefed him about the Safoora incident and other acts of terrorism.

The interior minister also held separate meetings with Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah in Karachi. Important issues including law and order situation in Karachi came under discussion.

In a meeting with Sindh CM, the minister said he discussed the formulation of a uniform arms license policy in Karachi and it was decided to reach at a decision at the meeting of all the chief ministers.