Nisar calls for committee to investigate PTI election rigging claims

The interior minister said that the committee should be given a month to complete its findings and proposals.

ISLAMABAD: Responding to the concerns of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding rigging in the May 11 general elections‚ Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan has said that a committee of the House should be constituted to investigate the matter in its entirety and furnish proposals for electoral reforms.

The interior minister said that the committee should be given a timeframe of one month to complete its findings and proposals. The committee should be fully authorized to summon the former caretaker prime pinister and caretaker chief ministers in order to expose the truth to the public, he said. He said that those involved in rigging should be de-seated.

Leader of the Opposition Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah welcomed the government's decision to form a committee on election rigging and electoral reforms.

The Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi asked the heads of the parties to nominate their members for a meeting on Friday on the terms of reference of the committee.

Ban on new arms licences imposed

The government has imposed a ban on the issuance of new arms licenses in a bid to improve the overall law and order situation in the country, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Thursday.

During the question hour at the National Assembly on Thursday‚ the interior minister said that over 70,000 arms licenses had been issued by the previous government that has contributed to a worsening off of the law and order situation.

Old arms licenses will go under review and new computerised NADRA licenses will be issued to replace the older ones, he said.

The minister said that the government was in close coordination with the provincial governments to check the sale of illegal weapons. He said that thousands of people involved in the sale of illegal weapons have been arrested.

National security policy

The interior minister said that a meeting of major parliamentarian parties will be held this month to evolve a consensus over the national security policy.

Nisar said that the government will also welcome the inputs of all the parliamentarians on the security policy. The security policy will envisage a strong intelligence system to strengthen the security institutions, he said.

The interior minister called upon the provincial governments to devise proactive security policies to deal with the current situation. The federal government will continue to support the provincial governments in handling the law and order situation in the respective provinces, he said.

He said that the entire nation, including all political parties and institutions, would have to join hands to deal with the current situation.

Nisar said that the federal government was sharing intelligence reports with the provincial governments and it was their responsibility under the 18th amendment to handle the security situation. He urged the provincial governments to activate their intelligence institutions including CID and Special Branch to thwart terror attacks.