ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared before the country’s top court on Wednesday, promising to take action against negligent officials whose carelessness facilitated the massacre of young children at the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar, said information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain after the court hearing.
A group of heavily armed militants belonging to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction entered the APS building in a high security area of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on December 16, 2014, and killed about 130 children and 17 staff members.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan, which has been hearing a case related to the incident, summoned the prime minister to question if his government had acted against those involved in the attack and those responsible for providing security.
The prime minister during the court hearing said there was “no holy cow” in the country and said he would take action against anyone named by the court, reported the local media.
Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed said action was taken against low-ranking individuals such as soldiers and watchmen while senior officials were still enjoying their perks and privileges.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan, another member of the bench, maintained the satisfaction of the parents who had lost their children in the attack was necessary.
“The main handlers [responsible for the attack] have already been eliminated,” the information minister told journalists after attending the court hearing. “The [Supreme Court] has now asked us to determine those who had moral obligations. We have a [judicial] commission’s report on this. So, we will complete [our inquiry] and present [its findings] to the court in four weeks.”
Pakistan’s former chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar had appointed a judicial commission in October 2018 to determine the facts related to the massacre. After about two years, the commission submitted its report in July 2020 in the apex court which included the statements of victims’ families.
The country’s interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the prime minister had “explained the situation” to the top court.
“The Supreme Court has given us four weeks … The prime minister has assured [the judges] that the government will expose those who were responsible, be it an interior minister, people from higher [intelligence] agencies or anyone else,” he said.
In a previous court hearing regarding the case, bereaved families of APS children had complained that the country’s leadership had not taken serious steps against those who were responsible for security negligence.
The top court summoned the prime minister only days after the government announced it had reached a “complete cease-fire” agreement with the TTP.
Thousands of Pakistanis lost their lives in violence generated by TTP militants in the last two decades and the group has accepted responsibility for several high-profile attacks, including an assassination attempt on activist and now Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai and the attack on APS in Peshawar.
Pakistan top court questions PM over peace talks with militants behind 2014 school massacre
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Pakistan top court questions PM over peace talks with militants behind 2014 school massacre
- Pakistani Taliban killed 134 school children at the Army Public School in Peshawar in 2014
- Parents of children tell court government had not taken serious steps to provide them justice
Customs seize narcotics, smuggled goods, vehicles worth $4.9 million in southwest Pakistan
- Customs seize 22.14 kg narcotics, consignments of smuggled betel nuts, Hino trucks, auto parts, says FBR
- Smuggled goods enter Pakistan’s Balochistan province from neighboring countries Iran and Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Customs seized narcotics, smuggled goods and vehicles worth a total of Rs1.38 billion [$4.92 million] in the southwestern Balochistan province on Tuesday, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said in a statement.
Customs Enforcement Quetta seized and recovered 22.14 kilograms of narcotics and consignments of smuggled goods comprising betel nuts, Indian medicines, Chinese salt, auto parts, a ROCO vehicle and three Hino trucks in two separate operations, the FBR said. All items cost an estimated Rs1.38 billion, it added.
Smuggled items make their way into Pakistan through southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
“These operations are part of the collectorate’s intensified enforcement drive aimed at curbing smuggling and dismantling illegal trade networks,” the FBR said.
“All the seized narcotics, goods and vehicles have been taken into custody, and legal proceedings under the Customs Act 1969 have been formally initiated.”
In the first operation, customs officials intercepted three containers during routine checking at FEU Zariat Cross (ZC) area. The containers were being transported from Quetta to Pakistan’s Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the FBR said.
The vehicles intercepted included three Hino trucks. Their detailed examination led to the recovery of the smuggled goods which were concealed in the containers.
In the second operation, the staff of the Collectorate of Enforcement Customs, Quetta, intercepted a ROCO vehicle at Zariat Cross area with the local police’s assistance.
The driver was interrogated while the vehicle was searched, the FBR said.
“During interrogation, it was disclosed that drugs were concealed inside the spare wheel at the bottom side of the vehicle,” it said.
“Upon thorough checking, suspected narcotics believed to be heroin was recovered which was packed in 41 packets, each weighing 0.54 kilograms.”
The narcotics weighed a total of 22.14 kilograms, with an estimated value of Rs1.23 billion in the international market, the FBR concluded.
“The Federal Board of Revenue has commended the Customs Enforcement Quetta team for their effective action and reiterated its firm resolve to combat smuggling, illicit trade and illegal economic activities across the country,” it said.
