February 05, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 26, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: The caretaker government on Monday claimed that terrorism was on the decline and said that the elected government should prepare a consensus strategy to eradicate the menace.Winding up a debate in the Senate on law and order, Interior Minister Lt Gen (retd) Hamid Nawaz said most of the cases of terrorism and suicide attacks, including that of Benazir’s assassination, had either been resolved or the perpetrators had been identified and arrested.

He said the caretaker government’s mandate was limited to holding fair and free polls and it would not allow anyone, including the parties which were boycotting, to create any hurdles.

He said that anyone trying to disrupt the process would be crushed with full force.

He said the caretakers were completely neutral and determined to hand over power to the party winning the Feb 18 polls.

Responding to speeches by opposition lawmakers, Gen Nawaz claimed that not a single person had been arrested by the caretaker government without first having been properly charged.

He conceded that there was a possibility that out of enmity at the local level individuals who had nothing to do with rioting, particularly in Sindh, might have been named in FIRs. “In such cases, the innocent will be spared,” he said.

He made it clear that none of the premier intelligence agencies came under the control of the interior ministry.

He said some Madressahs, and not all, were definitely involved in indoctrinating youngsters and preparing them to carry out suicide bombings.

He refused to take any action against the interior ministry’s spokesman for what has been described as his misstatements about the cause of Benazir Bhutto’s death.

He said that the administration could not arrest those terrorists/suicide bombers about whom police provided tip-off through the accused under investigation or interception of telephone calls.

He said Benazir’s vehicle had not been washed as any proofs of the slain leader were confined to the inside of the vehicle.

He said Ms Bhutto had been targeted for her categorical stance against terrorism and the government also pursued the same policy.

At the same time, he cautioned that a policy of appeasement at any stage could enable terrorists to regroup and lead to greater problems for Pakistan.