(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - “According to initial information, 20 terrorists intercepted the buses, while some of their cohorts were in the mountains. We will trace them out soon,” said the interior minister. He said the Kohistan incident was a conspiracy to destabilise the country, and added that those trying to give the incident a sectarian colour would not succeed in their nefarious designs.
Malik said that out of 18 victims, eight belonged to Gilgit, seven to Hunza Nagar and three to Astore district of Gilgit-Baltistan.
He appreciated the joint investigation team headed by the Hazara Division DIG and said the team was working well to trace out the criminals. He said he had also talked to religious scholars in Gilgit and appreciated their cooperation for peace in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The minister said that deployment of police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) had been enhanced to ensure security of passengers travelling on the Karakoram Highway (KKH), adding that Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts had been granted police powers to ensure peace and security of people.
He said President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, the entire federal cabinet and the people of Pakistan were grieved on the unfortunate incident and expressed sympathies with the bereaved families. Malik said federal as well as Gilgit-Baltistan government would financially support the families of the victims.
Answering a question on the issue of Balochistan, the minister said dialogue with all political groups was being conducted to ensure peace in the province. He requested the media to avoid coverage of the elements working against the country, adding that government knew their agenda.
Malik said it was government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) that realised the problems of people of Balochistan and took the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan initiative for development of the province.
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah thanked the federal government for taking prompt action to trace out the criminals and asked the people to remain calm, saying the joint investigation team had been working hard to probe the incident.
Meanwhile, the prime minister, while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet, directed the interior minister to help the Gilgit-Baltistan administration control law and order situation in the aftermath of the Kohistan incident.
The cabinet unanimously condemned the incident in which 18 people were shot dead by terrorists. The cabinet offered fateha and extended sympathies to the bereaved families.
/106
