Summary Interior minister assures National Assembly that new chief will be selected under NADRA ordinance.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that dozens of culprits involved in Rawalpindi tragedy occurred on Ashura-e-Muharram‚ have been arrested.
Replying to various points of order‚ the federal minister assured the National Assembly that strict action will be taken against police officers for their negligence. He said judicial commission constituted by the Punjab government to probe into the tragedy is speedily working and fulfilling its responsibilities. He said recommendations of the committee formed by the provincial government have been received.
Ch. Nisar Ali Khan appreciated the Ulema of various schools of thought who demonstrated patience and tolerance after the tragedy. He said there were threats of terrorist activities during the first ten days of Muharram‚ however‚ no untoward incident was occurred due to coordination among federal government‚ provincial governments‚ intelligence agencies and law and enforcement agencies.
The minister said law and order is a provincial subject‚ however‚ the federal government is extending cooperation to the provincial governments in this regard.
The Interior minister said efforts are being made to develop a code of conduct and consultation with Ulemas of every schools thought and sufficient progress has been made in this connection. He said the Punjab government has taken the responsibility of compensation for damages in the Rawalpindi tragedy. He said construction work on the mosque will begin soon.
Regarding removal of NADRA Chairman‚ Nisar said the matter is in the court and thus subjudice. However‚ he assured the House that the verdict of the court will be fully implemented. He said Tariq Malik was appointed as NADRA General Manager without any advertisement. Later‚ he was made chairman of NADRA in relaxation of rules.
Ch. Nisar said chairman NADRA was also reluctant for audit of the accounts of the organization. He assured the House that in future the NADRA chairman will be selected under NADRA ordinance.
Replying to a point of order raised by Imran Khan‚ he said verification of finger printing is the responsibility of election tribunals and not of the government.
Earlier‚ Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi criticized the removal of Chairman NADRA. In their views he was removed due to pressure regarding verification of finger printing in one of the Lahore constituencies. They demanded government’s point of view in this regard.
Leader of the Opposition Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah also expressed concern over the removal of the NADRA chief.
