QUETTA, Pakistan: The Home Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfaraz Bugti told the legislators during the requisitioned session of the Provincial Assembly that state institutions were not involved in kidnapping people and said that banned militant organizations were abducting people to mint money to strengthen themselves.
He said that the Taliban were trying to making their roots in Quetta.
He was addressing a requisitioned session of the Balochistan Assembly which started with Speaker, Ms. Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani in chair.
The requisitioned assembly session was called in to make debate on abduction of Asad Tareen, the son of Provincial Minister for Local Government and a senior leader of Pashtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Sardar Mustafa Tareen who was kidnapped by unidentified armed men few days back when he left Cadet College Pishin to proceed to his home.
Participating in the debate and discussion on the issue, the Provincial Minister Balochistan, Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said that banned militant organizations were involved in kidnapping people to strengthen themselves.
Four types of groups including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and criminal gangs are involved in abduction of people, he said. He rejected the impression that any state institution might be involved in kidnapping people.
He said that Taliban militants were trying to make their roots in Quetta and added our security forces would foil their designs in this regard. Government and security forces are able to deal with kidnappers and militants with iron hand. Several gangs involved in kidnapping for ransom had been busted, he said.
He said there were some issues pertaining to governance and law and order, adding that but the government and security forces were on high alert and they would not allow anti-peace elements to implement their nefarious designs. He said that some parliamentarians of PkMAP delivered emotional speeches over the issue and added, no state institution is involved in crime.
The Home Minister said that although police had been made free of political pressure, but still deputy commissioners were posted in districts on political basis.
Opposition leader Maulana Abdul Wasey said that the Opposition would not boycott the requisitioned session of the legislator. He said that the Opposition expressed its solidarity and sympathy with Sardar Mustafa Khan Tareen over the abduction of his son.
Provincial Minister for Education and senior leader of PkMAP, Abdul Raheem Ziaratwal said that the intelligence agencies should provide information to the government on the kidnapping of Asad Tareen and other people. In the light of information to be provided by the intelligence agencies, it is responsibility of the government to take further action to ensure recovery of the abducted people, he said.
Provincial Minister for Planning and Development and senior leader of PkMAP, Dr. Hamid Achakzai said, PkMAP never remained against military. He urged the intelligence agencies to trace whereabouts of Asad Tareen.
All parliamentary leaders in the house reached consensus to form a committee which would monitor the efforts of government and security forces to be put for recovery of Asad Tareen and other abducted people. The Speaker said that all parliamentary leaders would be part of the Parliamentary Committee of the Balochistan Assembly formed in this regard.
Later, the house was prorogued for indefinite period.
Source: APP
