Senate body urges Afghan govt to hand over Mullah Fazlullah

Published May 28, 2015
Photo taken from video by the TTP's media wing shows its leader Mullah Fazlullah.
Photo taken from video by the TTP's media wing shows its leader Mullah Fazlullah.

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior urged the government of Afghanistan on Thursday to hand over Mullah Fazlullah — chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — to Pakistani authorities.

Senator Rehman Malik, chairman of the Senate body on interior, said Fazlullah was involved in the killings of thousands of Pakistanis and his arrest was essential to give terrorists a death blow.

The Senate standing committee also directed interior ministry officials to submit details regarding terrorists arrested and killed by security forces in the ongoing operations against militants.

“It is important to know details of the terrorists that have been killed and arrested by security forces during operations. The ministry of interior needs to submit names of all such terrorists including their fathers’ names and pictures,” said Senator Rehman Malik, chairman of the Senate standing committee on interior.

Awami National Party’s Senator Shahi Syed said law enforcement agencies had arrested over 40,000 suspects, adding that the nation wanted to know the identification of those in custody.

Hamid Ali Khan, coordinator of the Nation Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), informed committee members that the interior ministry had banned 127 terrorist organisations including 67 outfits that had been outlawed by the United Nations.

Briefing members on implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), Hamid said the government had set a deadline of December 31, 2015, for the return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

“Over 19,000 unregistered Afghans have been arrested by law enforcement agencies and all district administrations were directed to register them on a priority basis,” he said.

He said the ministry had cancelled 260,000 arms licenses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10, 000 in Punjab and 3,000 in Sindh.

Hamid said forces had arrested over 49,000 suspects during 46,000 intelligence-based operations while the police had registered cases against 300 suspects involved in terrorism activities across the country.

Members of the committee expressed concern on the “slow momentum” in the implementation of the 20-point National Action Plan.

The Senate body directed Nacta’s national coordinator to take steps for reforms in the curriculum of religious seminaries along with proper registration of such institutions to keep a check on the sources of their funding.

PML-N Senator Chaudhary Tanvir said it was the responsibility of the ministry of foreign affairs to highlight involvement of foreign countries that support terror activities inside Pakistan.

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