ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR -  Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday made it clear that the Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case would be taken to its logical conclusion according to the law of the land.

“Jadhav was convicted by the court of law as it was established that he was a terrorist, spy and (RAW) agent involved in terrorist activities in the country,” he said while talking to media persons after attending a passing-out parade of 800 recruits of Frontier Constabulary (FC) in Warsak, Peshawar.

Nisar said that the Indian spy would have wreaked more havoc in the country, had he not been arrested by law enforcement agencies in time.

“There is no doubt that the whole nation is united on national security issues,” he said advising some “misguided” elements to avoid making this issue controversial.

He pointed out that it was India, and not Pakistan, that had approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “The Pakistani government would deal with the Jadhav case according to the law of the land,” he said.

While talking about relations with Afghanistan, the interior minister said that Pakistan has close relations with Afghans and wanted peace and stability in the war-torn country in its own interest. “However, if Afghanistan toes the Indian line, then it would not be tolerated,” he said. “Pakistan will not accept the Afghan leadership to speak the language of our enemy India.”

He suggested that Afghanistan, instead of levelling allegations against others, should focus on its own internal affairs for stability in the region.

While talking about Pakistan-Iran ties, Nisar said that both countries were tied to Islamic brotherhood and would address problems with mutual understanding.

“For this purpose, I would visit Iran after Ramazan to resolve specific bilateral issues,” he said.

While addressing the passing-out parade of the FC recruits, the interior minister said that the country has achieved major successes in the war on terror due to the sacrifices rendered by the security forces. He said that the FC was playing a major role in maintaining peace in the country.

“This has led to reviving the sense of security amongst the people. This fight would be taken to its logical conclusion with unity and harmony in our ranks,” he said.

Nisar said that “certain elements were on the payroll of their enemies and receiving funds from them to stoke anarchy and unrest in the country”. “These elements are killing innocent people including children and women in the name of Islam. These handful elements have distorted the image of Islam through their sordid acts but we will eliminate them with full force,” he said.

The minister said that the government has taken several steps to improve the capacity of security forces. “Over the last three years, Rs80 billion have been spent on the capacity-building of civil armed forces. Efforts are afoot to raise 29 new wings of the civil armed forces in coming two to three months,” he said.

The minister said that the FC personnel were the protectors of Pakistan and they would have to set new trends of professionalism and commitment in order to rid the country of all undesirable elements.

NISAR ASSURES RESOLVING BLOCKED NICS ISSUE

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday held a meeting with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra at the Governor’s House and discussed various matters, especially with reference to the law and order as well as the issues relating to the restoration of blocked national identity cards.

Advisor to Prime Minister Amir Muqam, who also is the provincial President of PML-N, Parliamentary Leader from FATA in the National Assembly Haji Shahji Gul Afridi, Parliamentary Leader of PML-N in the provincial assembly Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha, former Chief Minister Pir Sabir Shah and other concerned figures were present on this occasion.

The interior minister apprised the governor that from now onward, the national identity cards will not be blocked rather notices will be issued to the concerned persons.

Further, he said, 179,000 blocked national identity cards will be restored for 60 days while 35,085 have been kept blocked whereas 174,184 NICs have been verified.

Similarly, he said, if from amongst the aforementioned persons would be able to produce NIC issued before 1978 or provide proof of landed properties, having ownership of that time or any other documentary proof of identity or someone from amongst the family members would have been the government servant before 1990; then they would be issued national identity cards.

The federal minister was also of the view that after Ramazan more federal ministers will visit the province from time to time to help the people in easing their life.

Meanwhile, the governor highlighted the pace of progress on the ongoing developmental projects and the law and order situation in FATA.

He wished more effective role of the federal minister to resolve the issue of blocked national identity cards and also welcomed the strategy of the federal government for issuing fresh national identity cards to the respective NIC holders.