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PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 07, 2014
Clearing their name: TTP denies hand in capital assault
LAHORE: Pakistani and Indian Rangers personnel performing joint flag lowering ceremony at Wagha Border.
Islamabad carnage: Nisar to TTP condemn attack, identify culprits
ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP) has categorically denied any role in the Islamabad gun-and-suicide attack. Soon after the attackers struck F8, the TTP maintained that it would not be responsible for any violence during the month-long ceasefire, including the attack at Islamabad’s district courts. TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid also said it is not the responsibility of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to investigate who are behind the terror activities in the country. He, however, said that anyone belonging to the Taliban will be questioned if found guilty of any incident during the ceasefire. “We have already issued instructions to all of our colleagues to stop all violent activities since the ceasefire has been announced. We will not be linked to any incident during this period,” Shahid said in the statement. “The TTP is not involved in the Islamabad attack and neither are any of its colleagues.” The TTP spokesperson resolved, “We are bound to follow Sharia and are struggling for Sharia. We consid-
er violation of the ceasefire contrary to Sharia and [hence] forbidden.” “The inimical elements to Islam and the country are indulging in politics of propaganda, despite a categorical announcement by the Taliban. The Pakistani media has also adopted an irresponsible attitude,” he claimed. The TTP’s ceasefire announcement enjoys the full backing of the Central Political Shura and the chief, Maulana Fazlullah, and no unit of the TTP can violate this ceasefire decision. Lal Masjid reaction Separately, Islamabad’s Lal Masjid dispelled the impression that it could be behind the brazen attack. Hafiz Ehtesham Ahmed, the spokesman for the Lal Majid Shuhada Foundation told The Express Tribune that they have condemned the court’s attack and has no links with it. He said the foundation’s leader, Haroon Rashid, has also condemned the attack. He also said the foundation is contemplating taking legal action against a section of the media that has tried to link the incident with Lal Masjid.
JI complains PTI ended Nato blockade unilaterally A woman mourns the death of her 24-yearold daughter and lawyer Fizza Malik outside a hospital mortuary.
A view of damage in district court in Islamabad after a gun-and-suicide attack.
ISLAMABAD: Following a high level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the government has pressed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for an explanation regarding Monday’s brazen attack in Islamabad. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the National Assembly that the group has been asked to condemn the incident and identify those responsible for the twin attacks. “The government has conveyed, through the mediation committee, that mere disassociation from the terrorist incident is not enough,” he said, adding that violence and dialogue cannot run the same course. There are three possible motivations for the attack, the minister said; the attack could be in reaction to the arrest of seven people from the city’s outskirts, he explained. Additionally, TTP members may have launched the attack or terrorist groups with linkages to foreign intelligence may have played a role in the attack in order to sabotage the dialogue process, he surmised. However, Nisar added that details of the investiga-
tion would not be disclosed at this stage, saying the apex court has taken suo motu notice of the incident. He pointed out that there were discrepancies between the police and intelligence agency’s version of the incident. “I assure you that we will chase these people, catch them and bring them to book,” he said. “Such terrorist activities cannot shatter our confidence.” Opposition parties termed the attack a complete administration, security and intelligence failure, saying it exposed the government’s inability to tackle the challenge of security. Additionally, the combined opposition in the lower house cautioned that similar attacks could be carried out on other key state institutions, including the parliament. Opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said the incident took place less than 48 hours of the announcement of a ceasefire by the government and militants. He expressed surprise over the ceasefire, saying, “You can announce a ceasefire with any state like India and Afghanistan, but not with a faction of
PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 07, 2014
rebel militants, who have taken up arms and challenged the writ of the government.” He added that the government’s approach proved the state’s weakness while highlighting that the TTP does not maintain control over all militant factions. “The incident indicates that the government has totally collapsed administratively,” added PTI leader Shafqat Mehmood. “We need to implement existing laws rather than framing new ones,” he maintained. He pointed out that federal capital has become more insecure place as 45 incidents of robbery have taken place in January alone and vehicles worth more than Rs 1 billion were stolen during the last year from the city.
PESHAWAR: The Jamaat-iIslami on Monday complained the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had unilaterally ended the Nato blockade in the province. In a statement issued here, JI provincial spokesman Israrullah Khan said PTI usually took decisions on important affairs without taking allies into confidence. “The governments aren’t run in this manner,” he said. The JI leader said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan had announced end to the Nato blockade in the province
without taking the party’s allies, JI and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad, into confidence. He said the Sehat ka Insaf programme was a provincial government plan but it had been marketed with the name of PTI. Mr Israrullah said there were many instances of PTI ignoring its allies. He said he was hopeful that PTI would avoid taking decisions on its own and take allies into confidence so that the government affairs could run successfully in the province.
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