Chief Secretary and IG GB, suspended after Nanga Parbat attack: Nisar
Sunday, 23 June 2013 14:26
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said Inspector General Police and Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan have been suspended after Nanga Parbat incident, in which gunmen killed 10 people including nine foreign tourists.
Speaking in the National Assembly, he strongly criticized the apathy on part of security institutions in thwarting such acts of terrorism. He, however, said that there was no question of point scoring.
He said that the Chief Secretary and IG Gilgit-Baltistan have been suspended and an inquiry would be carried out against them. He told the house that gunmen entered the base camp in security forces' uniform and gunned down three Chinese, five Ukrainian and a Russian tourist by forcing them out of their huts.
Nisar said that a Chinese tourist was recovered from the base camp. "I talked to Chinese ambassador who asked whether Chinese tourists were militants' target. I told him Pakistan was the target of the attack," Nisar said. He said that the attack was aimed at giving the message to the world that Pakistan was an insecure country.
He said in view of the militants strategy to launch attacks at sensitive places by using security forces uniform, it has been decided that no army personnel would enter the Red Zone in Islamabad without being searched. He said that nobody would be able to stop only six terrorists if they enter the parliament in uniform.
He said the incident took place at the base camp of Nanga Parbat which is away from Ferry Meadows. He said as per the initial reports, the terrorists' were disguised in Gilgit Scouts' uniforms. He said the terrorists hired the services of two local guides, one of them has been martyred and other is in the custody and being interrogated.
The Interior Minister said it were the military security agencies who responded to this incident quickly and now they are also cooperating the civil security agencies.
The Interior Minister proposed the House to convene a separate National Assembly session on security matters and discuss the pros and cons in detail, so as to formulate a comprehensive security policy to confront the challenges.
Leader of the Opposition Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah condemned the killing of twelve persons in Gilgit-Baltistan and said terrorists want to single out Pakistan. He said opposition will never exploit such incidents and we all will collectively overcome the menace of terrorism.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi also condemned the attack and said that we cannot imagine that such places like Ziarat and GB will be targeted. He said that we need to change our political mindset to eliminate the scourge of terrorism.
The PTI leader said this incident can affect our relations with China and Russia. He said the transition phase in Afghanistan in terms of NATO withdrawal and Presidential elections has started affecting Pakistan. He said in this realm Pakistan needs to focus on the national security policy and change its paradigm. He assured his party's full support to government in this regard.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai proposed the House to write letters expressing sympathies with bereaved families of foreigners.