‘Presence of Afghan envoy’s daughter required to conclude probe’

RAWALPINDI: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Tuesday said the enemy countries, India and Israel, were in hybrid warfare against Pakistan, but their nefarious designs were destined to fail.

“The enemies were hatching conspiracies to create misunderstandings between Pakistan and China and create unrest in the region,” he said while addressing a press conference.

He said, “It would have been better had the Afghan ambassador not gone back. We want his daughter to be part of the investigations. “No matter she wants to fight her case or not, the Pakistani agencies will fully investigate the case,” he added.

He said the investigation into the Afghan ambassador’s daughter’s issue had been completed to a large extent. They knew about the places visited by her and the vehicles she had used for travelling. The drivers of all taxis were ordinary person, who had no previous record of having involved in any criminal activity.

The enemies, however, were trying to give the incident a different angle which had nothing to do with reality, he added. He said some international powers were against Pak-China friendship. The Dasu bus incident took place right before the scheduled meeting of Joint Coordination Committee of CPEC, while the Afghan envoy’s daughter issue arose a day prior to the Afghan peace conference, he added.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said, had directed the agencies to remain fully alert and keep a vigil on the security situation in the country. To a question about the situation in Afghanistan, he said it was the neighbouring country’s internal matter and Pakistan would accept any decision taken by the Afghans themselves.

Pakistan, he said, was moving forward under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan as all the armed forces and civil institutions were fully ready to cope with any situation. No one would be allowed to use Pakistan’s land against Afghanistan, he added.

The minister said it was his message for the youth, particularly those who were well versant with the electronic media, to get ready in the face of ongoing hybrid war, which might intensify in the days to come. He said the youth of Pakistan would foil the hybrid war launched against Pakistan. The youngsters should come forward to play a role to defend the country, as in the contemporary world, social and electronic media was being used for hybrid war.

To a question, he said the Johar Town incident took place just a day before the FATF meeting and likewise, the Afghan ambassador’s daughter case surfaced a day before the scheduled Afghan conference.

Such incidents seemed to be attempts to covey a wrong impression to the world about Pakistan, he added. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken a clear stand on Kashmir. He was emerging as a leader in the region, and the anti-Pakistan forces could not digest it, he added.

Sheikh Rashid said PMLN leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif was not running the election campaign in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as she was making speeches against Imran Khan. The party was making hue and cry about polls rigging, which means they had admitted their defeat in the AJK elections before the polling day, he said.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was going to win the AJK elections, he added. He said Maryam Nawaz had been announcing the end of PTI government since last December. If she had the courage, then she could hold a sit-in in Islamabad after losing the AJK polls, he added.

The PMLN government had ruined the country financially and now its economy was back on the road to progress, he added. He said the Diplomatic Enclave was being made a special security zone.

He said all borders of Pakistan were safe and 90 per cent fencing work along the Afghan border had been completed.

He said show-cause notices had been issued to officers involved in fake identity cards case while seven others were behind the bars, he added. Imran Khan and Usman Buzdar would launch the Lai Expressway soon, he replied to a question.

Meanwhile Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Friday inaugurated a special immigration counter for Chinese nationals at the Islamabad International Airport (IIA).

He said the counter would provide the fastest immigration facilities to the Chinese nationals. He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) visa holders would also take benefit from the special counter. A separate category visa for CPEC was being issued by the interior ministry, he added. The Federal Investigation Agency director general was also present on the occasion.