Ahsan terms bid on his life a cowardly act

Addresses policemen on first day back in office since the May 6 attack

ISLAMABAD : Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that the May 6 assassination attempt on him was a “cowardly act”.

“On May 6, a coward [attacker] opened fire on me but the protector is mightier [than the attacker],” the minister said as he addressed the personnel of the new counter-terrorism force of the capital police during his visit to police headquarters in Islamabad.

The interior minister said that Pakistan has suffered a lot at the hands of terrorists and its security personnel rendered great sacrifices. He added that today’s Pakistan is safer and stronger than it was in 2013, but the war against terrorism and extremism was not over yet.



The minister called for national unity to completely defeat the terrorists and extremists. “Hate mongers are the enemies of the country and its people,” he added.

“We do not want to leave a Pakistan where people live with fear and face hatred for our future generations. The Quaid had envisioned a Pakistan where everybody was equal irrespective of their colour, creed and ethnicity,” he said.

The interior minister also paid tribute to the security men including police who have been fighting terrorism and rendering sacrifices. He resolved to continue working to make capital police a model of policing in the country. He said that steps were being taken to make Islamabad not only the safest city of the country but also of the entire region.



Iqbal said the government had allocated Rs2 billion to build the country’s first ever national police hospital, which would be a dedicated facility for the force. He said seven police stations had been made model police stations under the ongoing police reforms initiative and seven more would be added to the list the next fiscal year.

He said funds had also been approved to establish a dedicated anti-riot unit comprising 1,000 personnel in the capital police, which would pass out this year.

The minister inspected parade by the second batch of the counter terrorism force comprising 291 personnel. The earlier batch of 380 men and women had graduated a few months ago.