JEDDAH, 22 October 2004 — Rauf Siddiqui, home minister of Pakistan’s Sindh province, has vowed to fight terrorism. “Terrorists cannot be eliminated overnight. Every member of society should play his role and people should work together in a cohesive way to get rid of this curse,” said Rauf, who was here to perform Umrah.
The government has done well to maintain peace in the country. “On our part, we have decided to eliminate the culture of street terrorism, fake encounters and extrajudicial killings in Sindh,” he said, adding that the government of Sindh is mapping out comprehensive plans to root out crimes.
“We are planning to install surveillance cameras in the sensitive areas of various cities to monitor criminal activities,” said Rauf. He claimed that police performance had improved.
Regarding the situation of prisoners, he said: “A plan is under way to grant amnesty to those involved in minor crimes, while those serving life terms will be allowed to spend one or two days with their family once in six months.”
“Ramadan is a blessed month and we should observe its sanctity, but some people fail to refrain from indulging in unlawful acts like hoarding essential commodities and malpractices in this holy month,” he said.
“In order to keep the situation under control, a special committee has been formed to monitor them and I will personally watch their activities,” Rauf said. He warned them to keep their hands off all such practices or face punishment.
“Killing of scholars was an act of cowardice and the culprits will be apprehended soon,” Rauf said while expressing grief over the killings of Mufti Jamil Khan and Maulana Nazir Taunsavi.
“Pakistan is a developing country and is still in the process of stabilizing itself, hence we all should join hands and work together for the prosperity of our country.”
Rauf further said, “It is the need of the hour to allow President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to retain his army post. While the Parliament has passed the bill allowing Musharraf to retain his army post, the opposition agitation is nothing but a waste of time. Instead, they must do constructive social work in their constituencies with a view to bringing prosperity to the people who voted for them.”
