LeJ dossier handed over to Punjab govt: Malik

Interior minister says banned outfit is responsible for 80% of terrorism attacks in the country.

ISLAMABAD:

Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday said the ongoing operation against banned terrorist outfits was yielding good results.

The minister said the terrorists involved in Karachi and Quetta incidents were in police custody, while raids were being conducted to arrest more perpetrators. He added that police in Karachi had arrested 20 wanted militants.

Furthermore, Malik also claimed that all details about Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), including a list of 734 activists belonging to the group, had been provided to the Punjab government with hopes that the provincial government would move against the banned outfit.

The minister said the banned outfit was using Punjab as a safe haven and was responsible for 80% of terrorist attacks in the country. He questioned why the Punjab government had still not commenced action against the group.

When asked about the all parties conference on talks with the Taliban, the minister said it was a good step for the establishment of peace in the country, adding that if the Taliban were serious in initiating a dialogue, they must lay down arms and proceed to the negotiating table.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2013.