KARACHI, April 15: The Sindh Cabinet, which met on Saturday with Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim in the chair, decided that religious parties and organisations would have to take prior permission from the Sindh home department to hold large religious gatherings in public places or in their institutions in the province.

A cell has been set up in provincial home department, comprising DCO, police officials and other provincial authorities, to coordinate with religious parties and organizations to hold large religious gatherings and congregations to prevent any mishap, like Nishtar Park tragedy.

Religious gatherings, like Soyem and Juma congregations, would be exempted. The home department would only allow holding of “manageable religious gatherings” by the organizers.

“Till now, religious parties and organizations were exempted from this formality, but now they would have to seek permission from the home secretary for holding large religious gatherings, including the one held in Faizan-i-Madina, Karachi,” said Sindh Chief Minister’s Advisor on Information Salahuddin Haider.

The cabinet directed the investigators to expedite completion of probe and decided that its report after finalization would be presented before Sindh Assembly.

The cabinet felt that it has been proved that the blast in Nishtar Park was a “suicide attack” at a religious gathering on the occasion of Eid Miladun Nabi (SAW) and called for ending all sorts of speculations in this regard.

IGP Sindh briefed the cabinet on investigations regarding Nishtar Park blast on April 11.

The Cabinet expressed satisfaction that the law and order situation returned to normality in the province after the incident.

Dr Arbab Rahim told the Cabinet that the federal and provincial governments were probing Nishtar Park suicide attack and added that those accusing the governor or the home minister should refrain from making “baseless allegations”.

The adviser said that the Cabinet had directed the finance department to immediately pay compensation cheques to the heirs of the deceased and the injured in Nishtar Park and Faizan-i-Madina incidents, besides paying hospital bills where injured of tragic incidents were provided treatment.

He said the IGP informed him that he was not aware of any visit by the FBI team to Nishtar Park, and added that US diplomats stationed in Islamabad might have made video of the site.

Sindh home minister Rauf Siddiqui informed the cabinet that mobile phones after Nishtar Park suicide attack were not jammed.

If any such an incident had happened, it could be a conspiracy or due to excessive load on cellular-phone network, he said.

He said that physical search of participants at large gatherings, like Eid Miladun-Nabi congregation was not possible. He said that Sunni Tehrik leaders and other Ulema, martyred in Nishtar Park, were provided police guards.

“ST leader Abbas Qadri had six guards, Iftikar Bhatti five, Hafiz Taqi and Akram Qadri two, while injured Tariq Mehboob three,” Rauf Siddiqui informed.

He said it is the responsibility of each one of us to cooperate with the government in the ongoing investigation. — PPI/APP