IMRAN MUKHTAR/REUTERS
ISLAMABAD - Officials in several government ministries ran a crime racket that helped to free 15 prisoners convicted of murder and drug offences, interior minister said Tuesday.
The minister’s statement is a rare official acknowledgement of the corruption in the government and dysfunctional criminal justice system.
“Drug money is involved in this racket. I have given ten days for this inquiry and it will be made public,” Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told a news conference.
“Those responsible for this will not sit in the ministry. Their place is jail.”
The minister said he had launched an investigation last year after receiving a note from a British minister expressing concern that a prisoner had been freed.
All those freed had been convicted abroad and returned to Pakistan. Four men were found guilty of drug offences and murders in Britain and returned under a prisoner exchange programme.
Nine others were returned after being convicted of drug offences in Thailand; the minister said it was unclear how they returned.
“Those who are part of this mafia as per law we will take them to jail. And this mafia which is not limited to the ministry of interior but is spread in other ministries as well,” he said.
Of the four men convicted in Britain, two were recaptured in Pakistan, one in Dubai and one in Ecuador, he said. The nine men arrested in Thailand on drug charges were also recaptured, he said, and would be sent back to Thailand.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Tuesday said the government had got no confirmation about the death of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah.
There were some media reports on Sunday night that Mullah Fazlullah had been killed in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in the army’s operation.
“There is no confirmation of the report of Mullah Fazlullah’s killing,” Chaudhry Nisar said. This is the first response from a key government functionary on the killing of Fazlullah.
Answering queries of journalists, the interior minister said the government was examining all the legal aspects of the case for extradition of MQM chief Altaf Hussain and a decision on it would be taken in next few days. He was answering a question whether the government was in touch with Interpol to bring the MQM chief back to the country.
Nisar said he had discussed with the British high commissioner to Pakistan the FIR registered against MQM Chief Altaf Hussain for threatening Rangers in a TV interview after the raid at the MQM headquarters and informed him of the excerpts of his speech. “I asked the diplomat that what the UK laws say about the threats given by Altaf Hussain, a British citizen,” he said. The minister denied he handed over any documents to the high commissioner about the MQM chief.
“MQM should continue as a political entity. It is neither the issue of Karachi city nor MQM, it is purely issue of crime and the mandate given by the political parties to start an operation in the metropolitan city to end crime there,” he said. He recalled that the security agencies had been given mandate in September 2013 by all political forces. He said MQM leader Farooq Sattar had proposed on August 27, 2013 that Karachi be handed over to the army.
Replying to another question, Nisar said the proposal to impose governor’s rule in Sindh was not on the table. He also made it clear that a final decision was yet to be taken to halt execution of MQM worker Sault Mirza convicted for killing the then managing director of KESC, Shahid Hamid, for 90 days. “We had sent a summary proposing delay of three months in the execution, to the president through the prime minister. The PM Office asked us about the next execution date and today we have told them it is April 1,” the minister explained.
He said investigations would be conducted in the light of the allegations of Mirza once his execution would be halted for a period of 90 days. He rejected the accusation that execution of Saulat Mirza had been put off to push the MQM to the wall. He said initially the execution was delayed for 72 hours on the request of the Balochistan government. Later, the security agencies had opined the statement should be further investigated. He dispelled the impression that the law had been broken by putting off the execution, adding the statement of Mirza was serious in nature. He said an inquiry was underway how a death-row prisoner was interviewed.
On the issue of Shafqat Hussain, the minister said a team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would determine his age, adding his execution had been halted for 30 days.
Ch Nisar said the government would work under an overall policy on death penalty within constitutional limits.
Nisar clarified that the names of MQM leaders had not been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) in the light of Saulat Mirza’s statement. He said there were over 8,500 people on the ECL and there were the people whose names had been on ECL for the last 30 years. He said a new ECL policy would be introduced next week, setting a maximum limit of three years for a name to remain on the list.