ISLAMABAD, 8 July 2004 — Pakistan and China will set up a hot Line to share intelligence in the fight against terrorism, a high-level delegation said on return from Beijing yesterday.
The telephone link will connect the Pakistani Interior Ministry and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, said Brig. Javed Cheema, head of Pakistan’s National Crisis Management Cell.
“The talks with the Chinese officials were highly successful and the two countries have decided to set up a hot Line for speedy exchange of intelligence information,” Cheema said.
China also agreed to set up a modern DNA testing laboratory in Pakistan and provide equipment to help boost Islamabad’s security apparatus, he said.
Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat led the three-member delegation that included Additional Secretary Interior, Abdur Rauf and Cheema.
A Chinese delegation will visit Islamabad later this month to finalize details.
Data on Terrorists
The government has made a computerised record of those involved in anti-government and sectarian activities in the country.
The Sectarian Terrorism Activities Record (STAR) is held by the National Crisis Management Cell. It was compiled in one year under a special package sponsored by the US government, sources said.
The names of activists of banned religious organizations, those involved in sectarian violence and terrorist sympathizers have been collected.
Intelligence and law enforcement agency officials collected photos and fingerprints of jailed activists of banned religious groups and those involved in sectarian activities, sources said. However, official sources refused to reveal how many people had been fingerprinted and photographed.
Cheema is overseeing the project.
Meanwhile, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf told a press conference in Helsinki during a state visit to Finland yesterday that the security situation in his country was good, even though foreign missions there remained closed due to bomb threats.
“I think the security situation is good. Unfortunately there have been some terrorist acts in some areas of Pakistan, but that doesn’t mean that the security situation is bad,” Musharraf said. The US and British diplomatic delegations in Islamabad have been closed since Monday due to threats of rocket attacks from Muslim fundamentalists, and only the American visa department there was open for business yesterday.
According to Musharraf, the closure of the embassies was unnecessary and played into the hands of the extremists.
“I would like to say that the easiest weapon in any extremist’s hand is to send a message and terrorize, even though they don’t have the capability or means to do anything, so one should guard against any undue alarm,” he said.
