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'Political leaders under terror threat'
The Interior Ministry on Tuesday warned that terrorists posed a threat to leaders including former premier Benazir Bhuttos. The ministrys spokesman, Brig (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema, told a weekly press conference that terrorists could target the treasury as well as opposition leaders. He said the ministry had warned Bhuttos security advisers that she was under a serious security threat.Bhuttos house arrest: Cheema defended putting Bhutto under a seven-day house arrest in Lahore, saying the government could not afford any risk to her security. The government decided to put her under house arrest to ensure her security as well as that of the citizens. He said the countrys law and order had been improving fast since the proclamation of emergency on November 3. He said the army had been operating in the NWFP since July 2007 without a formal requisition by the former NWFP government, adding that the armys deployment in Swat was made after former NWFP chief minister Akram Khan Durrani had consented to it in a National Security Council meeting held in June in Islamabad. He said the present NWFP caretaker government had formally asked for the armys deployment in restive areas on Monday, APP reported. He said there was no deal between the government and militant leader Baitullah Mehsud regarding the release of security personnel. The government under any such deal, he said, had not released any terrorists. Posted by: Fred 2007-11-14 |
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