Airport assault: Sindh govt was warned about attack, says Nisar

Says security departments did not carry out their responsibilities.

ISLAMABAD:

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Thursday that the Sindh government had been forewarned about a possible security attack on the old entrance of the Karachi airport — the gate which was eventually used by terrorists during the brazen attack on Sunday night.

The minister condemned the incident and said that departments responsible for maintaining law and order situation did not fulfill their responsibilities to avert the attack.

Nisar said that up to six security alerts — based on intelligence reports — were shared with Sindh government over the last five months, he added. The minister also stated that he had written a letter to the provincial government in March, pointing out security flaws and dangers at the old terminal of the Karachi airport.

The provincial government, however, did not take any action regarding the security of the area. The federal government had informed the authorities concerned that terrorists had photographed the places around airport, he added.

Nisar was of the opinion that the provincial minister instead of accepting their mistakes are issuing baseless statements. The interior minister rejected the notion that he didn’t pick the telephone of the prime minister.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2014.