Interior minister defends Nine-Zero raid

Nisar says paramilitary force has done nothing wrong and unlawful

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has defended the Rangers’ raid on the MQM headquarters calling it “a step in the positive direction to eliminate militants from Karachi”.

Read: Pre-dawn operation: Rangers swoop down on MQM headquarters

In an interview with the state-run PTV World, Nisar said the paramilitary force has done nothing wrong and unlawful. “The Rangers conducted the raid at the MQM headquarters in Karachi on specific intelligence reports,” he added.

Read: Why the MQM raid was conducted today and what it means for Karachi's security

Talking about the National Action Plan against terrorism, Nisar said the government had outlawed some 60 groups in the country. However, he emphasised that Islamic madrassas should not be equated with terrorism.

The minister said the government has shared with the international community evidence of India’s involvement in creating trouble in Pakistan. “I’ll only say that peace can only come through dialogue [with India],” he added.

Asked about tens of thousands of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, he said the government’s policy was very clear: the refugees should live in camps rather than running their businesses in towns and cities.

The UNHCR is looking after the refugees, but unfortunately Pakistan could not implement the policy to repatriate them to Afghanistan, he said. “I don’t consider Afghan refugees a security threat. We cannot send almost 2.5 million people in one go.”

The minister said Afghan law-enforcing agencies were doing their best to capture fugitive Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah and hand him over to Pakistan.

Asked about the Lal Masjid chief cleric, the minister said Maulana Abdul Aziz was not fighting on the war front. “He made a [controversial] statement on the [Peshawar] school tragedy but he lives in Islamabad. Aziz says he is a law-abiding citizen. His case is in the court so let the court decide,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2015.