Pakistan

Action should be taken against culprits behind Baldia factory fire: PM

Nawaz says the people of Pakistan expect tangible results under the National Action Plan and failure is not an option

Abdul Manan/web Desk February 16, 2015

Apex meeting held at Governor House. PHOTO: ABDUL MANAN

KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday that action should be taken against culprits behind Baldia factory fire, Express News reported.

Addressing the participants of provincial apex committee meeting held at Governor House, the premier criticised police officials for being slow to file chargesheets in the Baldia town tragedy.

"Justice should be served to the victims of Baldia town incident," he said while asking the Sindh chief secretary to give him a briefing on the incident.

Speaking about the National Action Plan, the premier said the people of Pakistan expect tangible results in this regard.

"Failure is not an option, we have to win the war against terrorism," he added.

PM Nawaz said the scourge of terrorism has to be eliminated for all times to come.

During the meeting, the premier also criticized Sindh Police for not performing effectively in combating terrorism.

The matters pertaining to the implementation of National Action Plan were also discussed during the meeting. The law and order situation in the province was also reviewed.

The COAS, governor, information minister, home secretary, secretary interior, chief minister and inspector general police were in attendance.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari had met the premier at the Governor House right before participating in the meeting and discussed matters of national interest with him.

According to sources, the prime minister will also meet members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement during his visit.

PM Nawaz also visited the Corps headquarters, Karachi in the morning and held a meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.

DG ISI and Corps Commander were also present on the occasion. The prime minister was given briefing on implementation of National Action Plan to eliminate terrorism from the country.

Nawaz was also apprised about action taken in the wake of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The premier appreciated intelligence-based action in Sindh, including Karachi.

Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asim Bajwa took to his Twitter account to describe the nature of the meetings.

PM visits Kci Corps,meets #COAS,briefed by Corps Comd.Appreciates ongoing int based ops in Sind,Kci in sprt of Ops Z-e-A/NAP/Kci peace
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 16, 2015

PM in Corps HQ Kci with #COAS, Corps Comd & DG ISI pic.twitter.com/8WJfSIMSf3
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 16, 2015

The Corps Commander Karachi briefed the premier on the security situation in Karachi.

At the occasion, COAS General Raheel said that the operation in Karachi should continue uninterrupted and that all crimes should be dealt with apolitically and indiscriminately.

DG ISPR quoted the army chief as saying that all crimes should be dealt with apolitically and that seeking political gains will never bring about the desired apolitical result.

#COAS:Pol expediency can't genrate apolitical response.Crimes dealt as apolitical.Broad based consensus,harmony must to capitalize op gains4
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 16, 2015

The army chief also urged better cooperation between LEAs and intelligence agencies and that the police should be empowered to be an apolitical force.

#COAS:Better Coord b/wLEAs,Int agencies must.Police be empowered as apolitical,effctive force.Postings w/o interference,through Apex Cmte-5
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 16, 2015

The COAS expressed satisfaction with the operation in Karachi and said it should continue without any discrimination on the basis of religious, sectarian, ethnic and political affinity.

#COAS:Ops w/o discrimination- vs all criminals,beyond ethnic,political,religious,sectarian affinity.With transparency,sincerity of purpose
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 16, 2015

#COAS:Rangers ops creates envmt for sustained peace,stability.Pol consensus,follow up must to capitalize space created,for enduring peace-3
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 16, 2015

COAS General Raheel Sharif also stressed upon the importance of Karachi to Pakistan. He said the stability in the economic hub of the country translates into stability for the nation.

#COAS:Kci played great role in our formative yrs,plays great role in our economy.Peace in Kci means prosperity for Pak.Meaningful effort req
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 16, 2015

Earlier in the day, the army chief also visited Rangers Headquarters Karachi and was briefed by Director-General Rangers Karachi, Major General Bilal Akbar, on the security situation. in Karachi and was briefed on the security situation.

#COAS in Kci:DG Rangers showing to COAS, weapons recovered during weapon seizures/recovery ops pic.twitter.com/DwMZXAcEk3
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 16, 2015

#COAS in KCi:Visits HQ Rangers.Briefed by DG on Kci security situation,ongoing across the board ops along with other LEAs-1/2
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 16, 2015

Army chief meets US under secretary

Meanwhile, Gen Raheel held a meeting with US Under Secretary of Defence for Intelligence Michael Vichers at the GHQ. Matters of mutual interest, including the ongoing regional situation came under discussion.

COMMENTS (22)

Diretide | 9 years ago | Reply Did anyone even notice the traffic jams and loot mar on the roads of Karachi Yesterday ? OMG what kind of a country is this !

Defending | 9 years ago | Reply @S.R.H. Hashmi: You are just trying to defend your bosses while deflecting attention to the Model Town tragedy. Tragic.

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S.R.H. Hashmi | 9 years ago | Reply Even if the investigations prove that there were no extortionists involved in the Baldia factory fire which killed 259 people, there still remains a formidable list of individuals who bear responsibility for the tragedy and must be taken to task. There were the factory owners who valued merchandise higher than human lives and are reported to have locked the doors so that the workers stay in order to salvage their goods instead of trying to save lives. And then there are governments departments whose duty it is to ensure that the industrial and commercial premises do have adequate fire-warning and fire-fighting facilities as well as emergency exits for the workers to escape in case of emergencies. Surprisingly, we do not hear much about that and instead most of the people seem to be busy hitting hard at MQM on the basis of an out-dated JIT which remains unsubstantiated and its originators just sat on it for over eighteen months, perhaps because they also knew that it did not have much substance. However, suddenly this JIT was taken out of the old files, dusted and presented to the court, with dramatic effect. And now PM Nawaz Sharif has come out strongly, demanding action against culprits behind Baldia factory fire. Normally, there should have been no need for the involvement of the head of government in the case, and it should have been investigated, and the culprits punished in a routine manner. And while talking loudly about Baldia factory fire, the Nawaz Sharif seems to have forgotten all about the killing of fourteen people and wounding of another eighty by straight shooting by his police at a peaceful gathering, without good reason, at Model Town. The case file seems to have been buried deep, and is unlikely to resurface anytime soon. The matter appears to have been fixed thoroughly. Even the army chief had slight involvement in the case and was reported to be instrumental in getting the FIR of the case registered. However, with so many things on his mind, he also would have forgotten all about it and is often seen gracing various meetings by Nawaz Sharif, and his presence serves to lend extra 'respectability' to Nawaz Sharif's meetings. And the media, and the large crop of writers, analysts and politicians also seems to have forgotten all about Model Town incident, which means that those who killed fourteen innocent men and women and wounded another eighty are unlikely to be punished. We have heard justice delayed is justice denied. To that I would like to add "Selective justice is no justice". Karachi

roarwali | 9 years ago | Reply The head of state does not say "action should be taken" but rather says "would be taken". Our PM is a faint-hearted man. What to expect more!

shahid | 9 years ago | Reply And action starts with 'Re-Investigation' of the incident. Speaks for itself.

Pakistani | 9 years ago | Reply Have you ever heard Bangalore issues are being solved by people from Delhi... If Karachi has to solve its issues then solution must be from Karachi.

observer | 9 years ago | Reply Let karachi like Delhi to be run by people of karachi.Instead of imported LEAs,there should be local police and Rangers.Give equal right and funds for development

Rex Minor | 9 years ago | Reply @naeem: This guy must be a lion among his people since despite receiving the shoe treatment from his expatriots, he has never stopped visiting London. For the purpose of comparison, George W never went to Iraq after ducking one boot from an Iraqi. Rex Minor

Vijay Kumar | 9 years ago | Reply What he means by "should be". If he as a PM is using the word "should" then who will use the word "must" or "will" ? Height of cowardliness.

naeem | 9 years ago | Reply @Patriotic Pakistani: I am amused when people call Nawaz Sharif a Lion. I like to share a experience I had with the people of Pakistan who think this man is a Lion. About 10 years ago this Lion came to the Central Mosque in London and when the Pakistani men saw him they started throwing there shoes at him. This Lion ran so fast that he tripped many times with his body guards running in front of him. It was so funny I just looked and could not stop laughing. Lion of Pakistan running like a Mouse of Pakistan

Viking Star | 9 years ago | Reply Would the PM or Sindh govt take action against the culprit (MQM worker and cousin of Altaf?) This is mere photo session and politics of vested interest.

Patriotic Pakistani | 9 years ago | Reply Dear Mian Sb, We have voted you. An accepted our leader since last 30 year. if you did not do any thing this time for Karachi. We will think as you are same as any other leader.. you are lion and act like one on Karachi issue..

Rex Minor | 9 years ago | Reply During the meeting, the premier also criticized Sindh Police for not performing effectively in combating terrorism. For how long this leader with his COAS and corps commanders will be allowed to interfere in the provincial democratic order and act like a dictator of the country remains the unanswered question? The folks defintely have the maximum tolerence for Sharifs, who act but take no responsibility for their actions. Rex Minor

Kaleem Ullah | 9 years ago | Reply The operation in Karachi has yielded results as I see it. Karachi is no more in every day news with scores of killing. Isnt it so, karachiites?

ali | 9 years ago | Reply It's about time we Pakistanis realise that the politicians and the Army are never gonna dispense justice or ensure freedom for the lesser Mortals, sooner u accept this the better

raider | 9 years ago | Reply if peoples like Imran Kahn project a call of shut down, it is called anarchy, if more than 260 peoples burnt to death alive, just on the basis of not giving extortion money, it is norm, and matter needs investigation, iinvestiagtion means evaporation of substance of matter, justice delayed means no justice,

Hatim | 9 years ago | Reply The same man he promised to drag in the streets of Lahore is sitting next to the PM. Then we wonder if they are sincere with anything!

Aysha M | 9 years ago | Reply The only action required is local governance. All mega cities are run by powerful & independent mayors with policing, transportation and utilities under them. Nothing will ever change until rural representatives govern urban sindh. Politicians from rural Sindh have no interest or stakes in the peace and progress of Urban Sindh, hence the conflict & choas

rukhsar | 9 years ago | Reply Please do the needful for the nation... you both are leaders of Pakistan.

maz3tt | 9 years ago | Reply what is the use of him coming to Karachi unless he uproot the real issue which has paralyze the city and had put it's citizen hostage.

Burki | 9 years ago | Reply What's up with all these "meetings" here & there, did these meetings ever produce any visible improvements in security situation? COAS and PM just had a Karachi meeting may be a week/10 days ago. Instead of giving an impression of doing something, these guys need to DO something - something that produce concrete results in improving the security situation in the country. Bomb blasts are happening all over the country as a routine affair yet our top brass has not moved beyond these meetings.

Parvez | 9 years ago | Reply Instead of reviewing the situation......it would be good if they DID SOMETHING about it.

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