KARACHI – The government has issued security warnings to high profile politico-economic figures as incidents of extremist terrorist attacks against prominent leaders gain momentum in the country. The two-times prime minister and PPP’s slain chairperson Benazir Bhutto topping the list and in the most recent attack on Wednesday when another bigwig, minister for minority affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, fell prey to a deadly terrorist attack in the country’s federal capital, reportedly, for his alleged demand of amending the blasphemy laws to prevent their misuse.
“Punjabi Taliban” is reported to have claimed responsibility of deadly attack on the minority affairs minister.
Governor Punjab Salman Taseer was also assassinated in Islamabad early this year (in January) by his own self-confessed security guard, Mumtaz Qadri, for his alleged bad-mounting against the laws promulgated to protect sanctity of the revered Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). According to sources, the ministries of Interior and Defence have issued “specific security warnings” to the country’s prominent political figures as well as economic tycoons and heads of different big business groups. Realizing the gravity of the situation, many of the business giants are said to have started taking precautionary measures like the acquisition of specially-built bullet-proof vehicles.
It recently appeared that two government ministries, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior, have issued a “specific” warning to one of the country’s leading business groups about the security of its chairman. In view of the warnings, the sources said, the group management is reviewing various options including the purchase of an armored vehicle for the chairman’s security. “The Board, in the light of the specific security warnings received from the Ministries of Interior and Defence, Government of Pakistan, has reviewed the management’s proposal… for the chairman’s security,” reads a resolution the Board of Directors of the business group is all set to pass in its forthcoming meeting.
When contacted a spokesman of the group confirmed to Pakistan Today that the group had received warnings from the concerned government quarters. The spokesman did not provide details of the security warning. Meanwhile, a banker confided to Pakistan Today that many of the trade, commercial and business groups had received such security warnings from the government and were taking preemptive safety measures.
“Many would certainly have received such warnings but everyone wants to hush these up perhaps for its sensitivity,” he added.
Given recent killing of the high profile government functionaries, one might opine that the terrorists and extremists have shifted the focus of their anti-state activities. And for this reason, perhaps, Interior Minister Abdul Rehman Malik claims to be topping the terrorists’ hit list along with former information ministers Sherry Rehman and Fauzia Wahab. Whereas Sherry is, reportedly, under threat for backing reforms in the country’s blasphemy laws, Fauzia is feared to face the extremists’ anger for her pro-immunity statement for the US operative Raymond Davis, presently behind the bars in Lahore for killing two Pakistanis.
Seeing the militant groups setting new targets, the PPP-led coalition government is, reportedly, weighing various options including going soft on the extremists. The top PPP leadership is reported to have decided to “go soft” on the religious extremists following the murder of Governor Salman Taseer viewing that political rivals from PML-N might encash a possible clash between the PPP and the bigots.
