November 01, 2007	Thursday	Shawwal 19, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: The Ministry of Interior has issued special directive to the capital police to beef up security in the city, particularly in the sensitive areas.

Official sources said the decision had been taken in the wake of the suicide attack in a top security zone of Rawalpindi, claiming eight lives and leaving more than 30 injured.

The sources said that policemen deputed at checkpoints and pickets had been directed to ensure strict checking of suspicious elements.

The sub-divisional police officers and station house officers had been told to enhance patrolling in their respective areas.

They have also been asked to convey their demands about bulletproof vests to be provided to cops performing duties at public places and police pickets.

The police authorities have also been asked to keep an eye on hotels, guest houses and restaurants in the capital.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior, which met here with its chairman Sardar Talib Nakai in the chair, discussed the law and order situation in the country and vociferously condemned the terrorist incidents in Rawalpindi and Karachi.

The committee chairman asked the interior ministry to take more effective security measures instead of prohibiting political processions and rallies.

He rejected the suggestion by a member that political leaders should launch their political campaign through electronic media.

“It is impossible to launch political campaign through media,” he observed. He said the political parties would hold rallies and processions and it was the responsibility of the government to ensure safety and security of the people.

A participant of the meeting told Dawn that at a stage when Mr Nakai described the situation in Swat and the terrorist attack in Karachi as something serious and asked as to what the interior ministry was doing, National Police Bureau Director General Dr Shoaib Suddle said law and order was basically a provincial subject, and the interior ministry gave them relevant intelligence input and guidelines.

The chairman also raised the issue of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for political activities reportedly drawn up by the interior ministry. Dr Shoaib Suddle said he had attended one meeting on the subject and observed that issuance of the code of conduct fell in the purview of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

A member of the National Assembly from Islamabad, Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, told Dawn that he expressed his concern over the government’s plan to place a ban on rallies and expressed the fears that the government by doing so wanted to achieve engineered results of the forthcoming elections.

He condemned the terrorist attack on PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s convoy in Karachi hours after her return to Pakistan, and said the government failed to provide security to its citizens.

He also asked the government to reveal the outcome of investigations. He expressed his concern over the situation in Swat.

Mr Bokhari said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) should adopt a transparent procedure for leasing out land for food outlets. He referred to the land leased out to McDonalds in a park for commercial activity and noted that such decisions should not be confined to the CDA rather the Ministry of Interior should also be involved, besides a parliamentary oversight.

He said CDA should not be allowed to lease out its valuable assets for peanuts.

The committee also took up The Police Order (amendment Bill, 2006 (Ordinance No. XLI of 2006), The Police Order (amendment Bill, 2007 (Ordinance No. XLI of 2007), The National Database and Registration Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2007 (Ord. No. XXVI of 2007), The West Pakistan Regulation and Control of Loudspeakers and Sound Amplifiers (second amendment) Ordinance, 2007 (Ord. No. XXX of 2007).

Those who attended the meeting included the members of the committee — Shahid Akram Bhinder, Raja Ali Khan Baluch, Onaza Ehsan, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari. Senior officials of the interior ministry also attended the meeting.