Accused should not be handed over, say politicians

ISLAMABAD - Terming contradictory statements of government functionaries regarding Ajmal Kasab's nationality 'the blooper of confused regime', Opposition leaders here on Wednesday said that the culprits of Mumbai carnage should be dealt with according to the law of the land without handing them over to India. PML-N Secretary Information Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan had been saying from day one after Mumbai carnage that if India handed over solid evidence of involvement of any Pakistani in the Mumbai terrorism, the Pakistani Government would deal with it according to the law of the land. "We are still committed to our principled stance and we will put to trial non-state actors according to our law but the government should never hand over any culprit to India", he added. "If any individual of any state is found guilty in heinous crimes it does not mean that the whole country be put under trial", he observed. Commenting on contradictory statements of government functionaries, Iqbal said that it had once again shown that there was disjointed decision-making process in power corridors. "This is happening due to the existence of 17th Amendment that develops a continuous tussle between the President and the PM thus causing confusion and embarrassment for the government", he added. Expressing his disgust over flip-flops of government functionaries, PML-Q parliamentary leader in the NA Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat said that it had proved that the government had no policy, no direction at all. "The manner in which whole episode was conducted reveals immaturity of the sitting regime", he further said, adding that on the other hand due to blunders of the government, India had successfully tarnished Pakistan's image among the world nations. "The statement of Indian Foreign Minister that Pakistan has no confidence in its security agencies therefore has asked UN to probe Benazir Bhutto's assassination should be an eye-opener for our rulers", he added. He said that due to follies of the incumbent regime Pakistan was stuck into a quagmire. "People have openly started asking that what is the real agenda of the persons sitting on the helm of affairs", he stated. Hayat said that after the admission by Pakistani Government that Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani national, now an independent international inquiry should be conducted into Mumbai carnage to unearth the real culprits behind the acts of terrorism. "United Nations could also be invited to probe Mumbai terror attacks so that a transparent investigation could fix the responsibility on non-state actors", he opined. He also demanded that a parliamentary committee should be formed to probe the involvement of Pakistani nationals in the Mumbai carnage. Liaquat Baloch, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Punjab said that the contradictory statements of the government officials and ministers regarding the identity of Ajmal Kasab were the great blooper of PPP led coalition government. "India from day one of the Mumbai carnage is harping on the same tune while our rulers keep on changing their statements with every passing day", he stated, adding that the government's contradictory statements regarding Mumbai terrorist attacks had exposed the government's incapability to run the affairs of the state. He said that the government had too many spokespersons that were further creating mess in the country's affairs. When asked what should be government's future line of action regarding cooperation with India when it had admitted that Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani, Baloch said that Ajmal's involvement in Mumbai carnage was bearing doubts. "It has been reported that Kasab had been arrested from Nepal and was being misused by Indian authorities to involve Pakistan in the Mumbai terror attacks", he added.

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