ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The federal minister for interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Saturday that only those people are being arrested who were involved in attacks on the Pakistan Television (PTV) and parliament House.
In his address at a news conference in Islamabad, he said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) have no right to raise hue and cry over arrests of those people as the two parties are on record disowning these attacks.
The interior minister said that the authorities started arrests of culprits the day before yesterday after completing the identification process through the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and other sources.
The minister said that clear instructions have been given to the authorities not to arrest political workers and action should only be taken against those involved in attacks on state institutions or police personnel.
Chaudhry Nisar further said that an FIR has been registered against electricity theft at the venue of sit-ins through four direct hooks (Kundas) and stealing of water. He said that the capital’s main water pipeline has also been breached and water being stolen by the participants of the sit-ins.
Nisar emphatically stated that all those involved in attacks on state institutions and police personnel and theft of electricity and water would be arrested.
The interior minister said that a very serious security alert was received from a sensitive agency a day before yesterday about possibility of terrorist attack on two sit-ins, thereafter security of the participants was beefed up.
Nisar said that apart from deployment of bomb disposal experts, ban was imposed on pillion riding in the capital for 14 days.
The federal minister expressed the hope that after clarification of the entire situation about arrests, the deadlock in talks would end and dialogue would resume. He said that the both parties should realize that only solution of the prevailing crisis is dialogue and nothing else.
