KALLAR SYEDAN: Lashing out at his critics, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday said it was unfair to link everything to Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) chief Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi.
Talking to media representatives in Kallar Syedan, a sub-district of Rawalpindi, he admitted that there were photographs of him meeting leaders of proscribed organisations. He countered the criticism coming from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) by saying, “Which PPP leader did not meet leaders of proscribed organisations in their time?”
He said that people with links to terrorist organisations had been eliminated or jailed, while those remaining had fled abroad, “but members of groups proscribed on sectarian grounds who have no case against them still resided in the country. “How is it fair to link everything to Maulana Ludhianvi?”
He said that scholars Sajid Naqvi and Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi could not be linked to terrorist organisations, but their organisations were still “proscribed on sectarian basis”.
He asked what was wrong in saying that the Shia-Sunni conflict dated back 1,300 years and was part of the Islamic history. Responding to criticism of his remarks in the Senate that outlawed sectarian organisations should not be equated with those of terrorist outfits,
Nisar asked whether it was “a crime” to suggest that separate laws be formed to deal with groups proscribed on sectarian basis to remedy the “confusion being created”.
The minister’s remarks that some organisations were purely terrorists while some had clash on sectarian lines had prompted the opposition to walk out of Senate in protest on Tuesday.
To a question about the disappearance of five civil society activists during the past week, he said that efforts were being made to recover all missing men so they could return to their families. “Matters in this regard are moving forward,” he said, but cautioned that a controversy should not be created on the issue. He said a missing report had been filed for only Salman Haider’s disappearance from Islamabad, while the other reports were filed in Lahore. He said the cases of disappearances “take time” to be solved.
Responding to a question about the extension to military courts, the interior minister said the government and the opposition parties had held a meeting on the matter. “A meeting was held to discuss the future of military courts, but no decision has been made so far, as opposition parties sought more time to ponder.”
He said that the main objective was to continue with a fast-track system of taking terrorists to their logical ends, adding that the matter of military courts would become clear within a few days.
Referring to the action taken against people bearing fake Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs), Nisar said that due to steps of the present government, 450,000 ‘fake’ identity cards had been blocked. He, however, said those found genuine would be unblocked soon. He said that about 32,400 passports of aliens had also been blocked. “There is no record of a single CNIC being blocked from 2002 to 2007, which reflects the negligence of the previous governments.” He said this campaign against aliens and fake identity card holders would be taken to its logical conclusion.
When asked about the committee constituted to investigate the newsgate, the minister said the committee headed by a retired judge had almost finalised its report. “The committee is expected to furnish its report to the government in the next few days.”
