Speaking at a press conference on Monday (9th August), Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid spoke regarding several important issues including how India, Israel, and Afghanistan’s spy agencies were conspiring against regional peace and security. Speaking against these schemes, he said their attempts would continue to be thwarted.
Additionally, he went on to talk about how the nation had one united front regarding national concerns such as Kashmir and CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), and that any obstacles that would come in the way of these concerns would not be tolerated.
The Dasu incident of 14th July, which had injured both Chinese and local laborers, had reportedly been caused by a blast, raising concerns that it had been an act of terrorism to hinder the CPEC proceedings and obstruct peace between Pakistan and China.
“I had a meeting with the Chinese ambassador last week and also spoke to the security minister about the Dasu blast. The law enforcement agencies have completed their investigation into the tragedy. The foreign minister will disclose the details,” Sheikh Rashid said.
Addressing criminals and terrorists, he warned them the law would take its course if they dared to resist or defy it.
He also announced that he had canceled his annual 13th August rally and fireworks display due to investigation reports as well as COVID-19’s rising cases.
Talking about Nawaz Sharif, the Interior Minister stated that the former PM’s passport had expired in February and had not been re-issued; the PML-N leader had the option of either seeking political asylum or filing for an appeal, but his personal advice to him was to return to the country. He stated that a true leader is one that “lives and dies for the nation”.
As for Shehbaz Sharif, Sheikh Rashid criticized the opposition for threatening to resist his arrest, stating the example of how Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, being such a great leader, was also hanged yet nothing out of the ordinary had occurred then, so it should not now either.
When it came to Muharram and the measures to be taken, Sheikh Rashid implored the ulemas and practitioners to keep NCOC’s SOPs (standard operating procedures) in mind throughout the month. He also said that all provinces would be able to seek aid and security from the armed forces if required; he himself was planning to visit the provinces to make sure the law and order situation was being maintained.
The Interior Minister also briefly discussed the incident of the Afghan ambassador’s daughter alleged abduction; he said that an inquiry team from Kabul had carried out their investigation regarding the incident and had returned with their findings, further stating that Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, would address the media soon regarding the incident’s verdict.
Furthermore, he announced that the interior ministry had been allowed to issue out arms licenses by the cabinet; however, they would only be supplied after revising rules and regulations of their provision.
Replying to a question regarding the increase in crime rates in the twin cities, Sheikh Rashid informed the media that the CDA Chairman has been asked to install 190 surveillance cameras, and Rescue 1122 service will be established in Islamabad with a task force of 20 vehicles.
