KARACHI:
Defence analyst Shahzad Chaudhry, while commenting on the attack on
Karachi Airport, said that the government had to improve internal
security in the cities. Senior analyst Rasool Bakhsh Rais and
executive-director of Pildat Ahmed Bilal Mehboob also expressed their
opinions in Geo News programme ‘Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Sath’ on Wednesday.
The host of the programme, Mohammed Junaid, said that a wave of terrorism swept around Karachi in the last a few days. It began with the attack on Karachi airport. Security institutions say that the terrorist attack was repulsed and 10 terrorists were killed. But 29 lives were also lost. The ASF personnel bore the brunt of the attack, with 22 of its personnel embracing martyrdom. It was learnt the following day that seven people had taken refuge in a warehouse adjacent to a cold storage to save them from the onslaught of the terrorists. Their plight did not come to light immediately and there was also a delay in putting out the fire which resulted in death of other seven people.
Defence analyst Shahzad Chaudhry said that the state had been left with only option after the attack on Karachi airport i.e. operation. The thing that the country had to decide now was the nature of the operation and the areas where the operation was to be carried out. There was now no alternative other than operation. He said that the government had to make the security of important installations foolproof. Internal security in the cities had to be improved. Police, paramilitary forces and intelligence outfits would have a pivotal role in the operation. The rift in the ranks of the Taliban was their weakness.
Shahzad Chaudhry said that now the bigger menace was those groups of Taliban which were outside the country and who were being controlled by foreign agencies. Commenting on Pakistan-India relations, Mohammed Junaid said that in the latest development in this regard, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had written a letter to the Indian prime minister that efforts should be made to normalise relations.
Senior analyst Rasool Bakhsh Rais said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s message of peace to his Indian counterpart was a commendable gesture. He said that he hoped that the Indian prime minister would reciprocate the gesture of peace. Pakistan should not leave any stone unturned in its efforts to improve relations with India.
Rasool Bakhsh Rais said that the foundation of India-China relations was trade, and so it should be between Pakistan and India. “If we find that Indian arms were used in the attack on Karachi airport, we should lodge a strong protest with India. The evidence of Indian interference in Balochistan should be put before the Indian prime minister.”
Commenting on electoral reforms, Mohammed Junaid said that the demand for electoral reforms was being raised for some time. The Election Commission had declared the 2013 elections transparent, but several political parties had raised questions over the transparency of the elections, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf being the loudest protestor in this connection. There was a consensus between the government and the opposition parties that electoral reforms were essential for free and transparent elections. However, demands in this regard had not been met. How the Nawaz government tackled the problem, and how it took along all the opposition parties in this regard would become clear through the government’s actions. Meanwhile, the government had been talking about forming a parliamentary committee on electoral reforms.
Executive Director of Pildat, Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, said that a new parliamentary committee on electoral reforms would complicate the exercise because the previous parliamentary committees had done a lot of spadework for electoral reforms while the Election Commission had already submitted 24 amendments before the law ministry.
He said that the condition for the post of election commissioners to be former chief justice of the Supreme Court or of the High Court must be done away with.
He said that the parliamentary committee for electoral reforms would not be able to satisfy Imran Khan because he wanted investigation into the excesses in the last elections and he called for verification of thumb impressions in four constituencies.
The host of the programme, Mohammed Junaid, said that a wave of terrorism swept around Karachi in the last a few days. It began with the attack on Karachi airport. Security institutions say that the terrorist attack was repulsed and 10 terrorists were killed. But 29 lives were also lost. The ASF personnel bore the brunt of the attack, with 22 of its personnel embracing martyrdom. It was learnt the following day that seven people had taken refuge in a warehouse adjacent to a cold storage to save them from the onslaught of the terrorists. Their plight did not come to light immediately and there was also a delay in putting out the fire which resulted in death of other seven people.
Defence analyst Shahzad Chaudhry said that the state had been left with only option after the attack on Karachi airport i.e. operation. The thing that the country had to decide now was the nature of the operation and the areas where the operation was to be carried out. There was now no alternative other than operation. He said that the government had to make the security of important installations foolproof. Internal security in the cities had to be improved. Police, paramilitary forces and intelligence outfits would have a pivotal role in the operation. The rift in the ranks of the Taliban was their weakness.
Shahzad Chaudhry said that now the bigger menace was those groups of Taliban which were outside the country and who were being controlled by foreign agencies. Commenting on Pakistan-India relations, Mohammed Junaid said that in the latest development in this regard, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had written a letter to the Indian prime minister that efforts should be made to normalise relations.
Senior analyst Rasool Bakhsh Rais said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s message of peace to his Indian counterpart was a commendable gesture. He said that he hoped that the Indian prime minister would reciprocate the gesture of peace. Pakistan should not leave any stone unturned in its efforts to improve relations with India.
Rasool Bakhsh Rais said that the foundation of India-China relations was trade, and so it should be between Pakistan and India. “If we find that Indian arms were used in the attack on Karachi airport, we should lodge a strong protest with India. The evidence of Indian interference in Balochistan should be put before the Indian prime minister.”
Commenting on electoral reforms, Mohammed Junaid said that the demand for electoral reforms was being raised for some time. The Election Commission had declared the 2013 elections transparent, but several political parties had raised questions over the transparency of the elections, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf being the loudest protestor in this connection. There was a consensus between the government and the opposition parties that electoral reforms were essential for free and transparent elections. However, demands in this regard had not been met. How the Nawaz government tackled the problem, and how it took along all the opposition parties in this regard would become clear through the government’s actions. Meanwhile, the government had been talking about forming a parliamentary committee on electoral reforms.
Executive Director of Pildat, Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, said that a new parliamentary committee on electoral reforms would complicate the exercise because the previous parliamentary committees had done a lot of spadework for electoral reforms while the Election Commission had already submitted 24 amendments before the law ministry.
He said that the condition for the post of election commissioners to be former chief justice of the Supreme Court or of the High Court must be done away with.
He said that the parliamentary committee for electoral reforms would not be able to satisfy Imran Khan because he wanted investigation into the excesses in the last elections and he called for verification of thumb impressions in four constituencies.
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