Three, not five, women killed in Balochistan, says Malik
ISLAMABAD: The actual number of women allegedly killed in Balochistan is three instead of five and they were shot dead before being buried, Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik said on Friday.
Sharing preliminary details of the autopsy report in the Senate, he said four suspects had been taken into custody and that further investigations were continuing. He said one serious problem being faced by the investigation team was the unavailability of witnesses, as no-one was willing to provide information or testify. Malik also promised to present the complete medical findings of the doctors before the Senate next Tuesday.
Earlier, the House suspended ‘Question Hour’ to debate the deteriorating situation in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Prof Khursheed led the debate with an attack on the United States for its ‘anti-Pakistan’ and ‘anti-Muslim’ polices, which, he said, were responsible for the current crisis in FATA.
He said the US had unilaterally carried out 54 attacks in FATA since the beginning of the war on terror, but had intensified the attacks after the new government in Pakistan had taken over. “The US has carried out 19 attacks in the past five months,” he said, and asked the government to halt the military operation and negotiate with the militants as the “policy of meeting terror with terror had failed”.
Senator Azam Swati said the present government was following the previous government’s policies, which had endangered the country’s survival. He said Pakistan faced an ‘immense’ threat from terrorism and had called for regional conferences with India, Iran, China and Afghanistan over the issue.
Senator Saadia Abbasi said the government had failed to uphold its commitment to disband the National Accountability Bureau. In response, Leader of the House Raza Rabbani said NAB would be modified next month, adding that the government was working to reform the bureau.
Dr Muhammad Saad said former Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf had dual nationality and if the government put his name on the exit control list, he could dodge the authorities by using his US passport to sneak out of Pakistan.
Allma Abbas Komeli staged a walk out over the continued fighting in Parachinar and the lack of food and medicine in the area. He said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had refused to meet him despite his requests to discuss the situation in Parachinar.
Prof Ibrahim, Dr Muhammad Saad and Abdul Rashid also participated in the debate, condemning the US attacks inside Pakistan and asking the government to review the policy of the on-going war on terror. They also warned that the tribal situation could develop like the situation in 1971, that ended with the country’s division.
Source: Daily Times
Date:9/6/2008
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