roopesh
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2008
- Messages
- 519
- Reaction score
- 0
ISLAMABAD: In a potential embarrassment for the Zardari government, the former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has revealed that Pakistani authorities have sealed Faridkot village in the Punjab province, to which Pakistani media have traced the origins of the lone surviving gunman from the Mumbai attacks, and prevented journalists from meeting his family.
The disclosure is bound to prompt India and the international community to ask if the Pakistani authorities are involved in covering up Mohammed Ajmal Amir’s tracks to the village.
Two Pakistani media outlets and one British newspaper have independently traced Ajmal Amir’s origins to the village. President Asif Ali Zardari has said this was not enough evidence to establish the gunman’s links to Pakistan.
But it was far from clear if Mr. Sharif, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader, was finding fault with the government for hiding the gunman’s nationality or if he was questioning Ajmal Amir’s “involvement” in the Mumbai carnage.
“It has been said that this Ajmal ‘Kasab’ belongs to Faridkot village. I have personally checked that the village and its surrounding areas were cordoned off. His parents are not being allowed to meet anyone,” Mr. Sharif said in an interview to Geo Television on Thursday night.
“Why, and for what reason has this been done? If he is not involved [in the Mumbai attacks], then he is not involved. People should be allowed to meet everyone in the village,” he said. “The media should be allowed to meet his parents, and let them say they have not seen him for two or three years.”
“All this points to the fact that we too need to set our own house in order,” said Mr. Sharif. “At this time, it is presenting a picture of a failed state,” he said.
Also, in an apparent bid to shed his reputation as a bedfellow of religious extremists and somewhat contradictorily to his remarks about Ajmal Amir, Mr. Sharif said it was time to reflect on why Pakistan was being blamed for most of terrorist acts in the world. “We should accept some responsibility for this sorry state of affairs and expose those who nurtured such elements during the past eight years,” he said.
PTI reports:
The Pakistan government said it was “unfortunate” that Mr. Sharif chose a “sensitive time” to launch an attack against it.
In New Delhi, Union Minister Kapil Sibal welcomed Mr. Sharif’s statement acknowledging that Ajmal is a Pakistani.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/20/stories/2008122053370100.htm
The disclosure is bound to prompt India and the international community to ask if the Pakistani authorities are involved in covering up Mohammed Ajmal Amir’s tracks to the village.
Two Pakistani media outlets and one British newspaper have independently traced Ajmal Amir’s origins to the village. President Asif Ali Zardari has said this was not enough evidence to establish the gunman’s links to Pakistan.
But it was far from clear if Mr. Sharif, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader, was finding fault with the government for hiding the gunman’s nationality or if he was questioning Ajmal Amir’s “involvement” in the Mumbai carnage.
“It has been said that this Ajmal ‘Kasab’ belongs to Faridkot village. I have personally checked that the village and its surrounding areas were cordoned off. His parents are not being allowed to meet anyone,” Mr. Sharif said in an interview to Geo Television on Thursday night.
“Why, and for what reason has this been done? If he is not involved [in the Mumbai attacks], then he is not involved. People should be allowed to meet everyone in the village,” he said. “The media should be allowed to meet his parents, and let them say they have not seen him for two or three years.”
“All this points to the fact that we too need to set our own house in order,” said Mr. Sharif. “At this time, it is presenting a picture of a failed state,” he said.
Also, in an apparent bid to shed his reputation as a bedfellow of religious extremists and somewhat contradictorily to his remarks about Ajmal Amir, Mr. Sharif said it was time to reflect on why Pakistan was being blamed for most of terrorist acts in the world. “We should accept some responsibility for this sorry state of affairs and expose those who nurtured such elements during the past eight years,” he said.
PTI reports:
The Pakistan government said it was “unfortunate” that Mr. Sharif chose a “sensitive time” to launch an attack against it.
In New Delhi, Union Minister Kapil Sibal welcomed Mr. Sharif’s statement acknowledging that Ajmal is a Pakistani.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/20/stories/2008122053370100.htm
Last edited: