'US must not violate Pak territorial sanctity'

ISLAMABAD - The Advisor to PM on Interior Rehman Malik here on Tuesday hoped that US would respect the unanimous voice of Pakistanis and halt violating territorial sanctity of Pakistan.    "The Government has announced temporary ceasefire in restive tribal territories due to holy month of Ramadan but we have directed our forces to take strict action whenever militants try to disrupt peace", he said while addressing a stakeholders' conference on human trafficking. The Government has also put security on red alert across the country after getting sensitive information from a would-be suicide bomber who was arrested from Nowshera on Sunday.    The Advisor to PM on Interior, Rehman Malik told media persons after attending the conference that the law enforcement agencies had arrested a would-be suicide bomber from Nowshera and he (bomber) had disclosed that some of his fellow bombers had succeeded in reaching various cities of the country and could strike at any time. Malik said that security had been stepped up across the country to thwart any mishap. "We have put security on red alert in the capital as well as in all the four provincial headquarters to foil any possible attempt of terrorism", he added. Advisor to PM on Interior addressed stakeholders' conference on human trafficking organized by the Ministry of Interior in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration and the US Department of State, as the chief guest.       He said that although the Government had announced temporary ceasefire in the troubled areas in view of the holy month of Ramadan, yet the security forces had been directed to use force whenever the insurgents attempted to disrupt peace.       "We took strict action against the militants in Bajaur when they set the post office ablaze despite a temporary ceasefire", he said, adding that no one would be allowed to take the law into his own hands and the Government was committed to eradicating terrorism from Pakistan.        Malik said that as many as 300,000 people had been displaced from the tribal areas following the action by the security forces against the militants, out of which almost half had already returned to their homes. On frequent territorial violations by NATO troops, he said the people of Pakistan had raised their voice through two parliamentary resolutions. "It is high time the US respected the voice of Pakistanis and we hope that it would be heard," Rehman Malik said.       He said that there was a need for dismantling the network of trafficking agents and tightening up of laws in various areas to deal with illegal immigrants. He said economic pressures were compelling the poverty-stricken people to adopt illegal means to go abroad for better life while the agents were exploiting the situation.        "We have arrested 34 people and also dismantled their whole network," he told the participants of the conference. The conference was attended by a large number of diplomats, officials from the Interior Ministry, Labour Ministry, civil society organizations and IOM. He requested the IOM to evolve a system to identify the agents involved in human trafficking and share the information with the countries.       Rehman Malik said the Government was committed to eliminating human trafficking with combined efforts of all the stakeholders including NGOs, INGOs, government departments and law enforcement agencies.       "The number of (Pakistani) deportees  declined from 44,000 in 2005 to 10,000  this year and that shows our commitment. But a lot more needs to be done," the Advisor said.       He said the Government had also revamped the rules in respect of officials of the Federal Investigation Agency in order to ensure that any official found involved in human trafficking was arrested and strict action taken promptly. The Advisor said, "The international community should extend their full cooperation to the fight against the menace as illegal immigration increases the danger of terrorism." He pointed out that in 9/11 and 7/7 attacks, majority of those involved were immigrants.       Malik criticized the policy of political asylum saying that it also encouraged illegal immigration. He called for reviewing the policy of asylum with a view to preventing its misuse. Ambassador Mark P Lagon of US Department of State in his address as special guest emphasized the collective efforts of governments, civil society organizations and law enforcement agencies to get rid of this menace.        He said the governments should act pro-actively to combat human trafficking and help the victims and not treat them as lost human beings. He said Pakistan should make focused efforts to improve the system to identify victims and perpetrators.

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