Pak interior miniSter defendS meeting ‘godfather of militantS’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday defended his widely criticised meeting with popular extremist leaders, saying it was unfair to link everything to a sectarian leader also known as the godfather of militants. Nisar was referring to the criticism he faced from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for his meeting with Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi, chief of the proscribed anti-Shia Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ). The party had also accused him of maintaining friendly ties with Ludhianvi. “How is it fair to link everything to Maulana Ludhianvi?” Khan told reporters in Rawalpindi in response to a question. “Which PPP leader did not meet leaders of proscribed organisations in their time?” he asked. Khan created a storm after his last year’s meeting with so-called godfather of militants Maulana Samiul Haq and Ludhianvi among others which was widely covered by the mainstream media. The minister created another controversy last week when he told Senate that outlawed sectarian organisations should not be equated with terrorist outfits. Responding to criticism, Khan said that he was suggesting that there should be a separate law to deal with groups banned on sectarian basis from the militants groups. Taking credit for action against militants, Khan said, “during my tenure, about 450,000 Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) and 32,400 passports have been blocked.