May 17, 2005	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, May 16: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao on Monday asked the PML leaders to take its allies into confidence in taking decisions and resolving differences. Talking to journalists at a function here, he said that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League should strengthen working relations with the allied parties.

Answering a question about forthcoming local bodies’ elections in the country, he said that the ruling coalition should chalk out a joint strategy.

Answering another question, the minister denied killing of an Al-Qaeda operative, Hashim Al-Yamani, on Pakistani soil by a missile reportedly fired by an unmanned CIA Predator plane. “This incident might have happened in Afghanistan’s territory,” he added.

Mr Sherpao termed the arrest of a top Al Qaeda leader, Abu Faraj Al Libbi, a ‘heavy dent’ to the terror network. “Pakistan will continue the fight till the menace is completely eliminated,” he added.

He hoped that terror groups in Pakistan would not be able to hatch conspiracies against the country due to stringent measures taken by the government and its law enforcement agencies.

When asked about Madaris reforms, he said that the government wanted to ensure that students of the institutions became useful citizens.

“Necessary steps are being taken to ensure that Madaris students also receive education in modern subjects,” he said.

Mr Sherpao said that the government was committed to carrying forward the Model Madaris Programme to provide better education facilities to the students of the seminaries.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, he said, had formed a three-member committee, comprising him (interior minister), Minister for Religious Affairs Ijazul Haq and Minister for Education Javed Ashraf Qazi, to successfully run the programme.

About desecration of Holy Quran in Guantanamo Bay, the minister said that the US government had launched an investigation into the incident and Pakistan was waiting for the results.

He expressed concern over a recent attack on the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad (Afghanistan) during anti-US demonstrations, saying that the Afghan authorities were holding an inquiry into the incident.

“However, Pakistan has asked the Afghan government to make proper security arrangements for protecting Pakistani mission in Afghanistan as the consulate had already been attacked two times in the past,” he said.

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