The Opposition senators questioned the Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed over the recent terrorist attacks in Islamabad and Lahore in today’s Senate session.
Earlier this week, in a gun attack, a police officer was killed in the capital and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility. Lahore was attacked on Thursday which claimed the lives of three civilians.
Senator Raza Rabbani said that Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) had claimed responsibility for one of the attacks while Rasheed said the TTP was behind it. The senator demanded that the minister be summoned to clear the confusion, reports Dawn.
Several other senators including Pakistan Muslim-League’s (PML-N) sought a reply. One of them said that “he had not seen the interior minister in the House for any briefing during the last nine months.”
Rasheed made a briefing and said that there are “special motives” behind the killing of the cop in Islamabad. However, about the Lahore tragedy, the minister stated that an investigation is underway.
Upon the Oppostion’s insistence of seeking an explanation from the government. Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani told the minister to brief the upper house in this regard and the steps taken by the government on Monday (January 24).
After the capital incident, the minister had warned of more terrorist-related attacks. Previously in the past month, two terrorists allegedly belonging to the banned outfit TTP were arrested in Karachi.
