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| India-Pakistan |
| 'Govt wants to end Jamia Hafsa crisis with minimum loss of life' |
| 2007-07-08 |
| The government on Saturday claimed it was fully competent to complete the operation against Jamia Hafsa within few hours, but was exercising restraint, as a little haste could jeopardize the life of innocent women and children made hostage by the militants. It also warned that Lal Masjid deputy cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi would be responsible for any harm done to these innocent people. Speaking at a press briefing after a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said the government wanted to solve the Jamia Hafsa issue promptly and with minimum loss of life. He said the government would have completed this operation within few hours had there been no innocent women and children inside the seminary. He said that of the 595 male students who had surrendered the minors were being released, while others would be set free after debriefing. He said only three girl students present in Haji Camp were waiting for their parents to take them back home, while all other girls had been handed over to their families. Sherpao said the government had decided to shrink the area under curfew and increase the duration of curfew relaxation to facilitate the G-6 residents. He said the government would ensure more public transport in the area during relaxation of curfew. He said the government had also established temporary residential facilities for those parents whose children were still trapped inside the seminary. Earlier, addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government was very concerned about the plight of the students trapped inside the mosque and their parents. He said the government was also upset at reports that women and children had been made hostage by the extremists inside Jamia Hafsa. “The safety of these women and children is our top priority and we are pursuing a strategy to achieve the objectives without compromising on their safety,” Aziz added. He said the government would take every possible step to facilitate the release and return of hostages and to help out their parents. The PM said the people holed up inside the mosque had brought a bad name to country and the religion. He said the government was trying to restore peace and normalcy within the shortest possible time and had encouraged every move by various sections of the society to resolve the issue peacefully. He said the government had encouraged interventions by ulema, parliamentarians, social workers and others for the release of hostages, but no headway could be made in this regard because of the stubbornness of the Jamia Hafsa administration. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 I keep reading that as "Jimmy Hoffa Crisis". |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-07-08 11:46 |