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| India-Pakistan |
| Hekmatyar poses no threat, says Pakistani Minister |
| 2003-02-20 |
| Pakistan Interior Minister Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat has said that former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbudin Hekmatyar poses no immediate threat to the security of Pakistan or international community. "Hekmatyar is no immediate threat to our security or international security," the Minister told journalists here. Faisal said that Pakistan has no links with Hekmatyar or his Hizb-e-Islami group. "Though in the past he had opened his offices but now he has totally been banned in Pakistan," he said. "We have no information about the whereabouts of Hekmatyar. No one is using Pakistani soil against United States or any other country," the Minister stressed. I'm glad you cleared that up. I feel much better now. Regarding the issue of human trafficking, the Minister said since the Bali conference to curb human trafficking, the Pakistani government has accelerated its efforts to address the issue. "We are committed to take every possible step for checking human trafficking and smuggling. We have planned a comprehensive strategy and taken positive steps," Faisal said. Really, tell me how? He noted: "The fundamental problem we are facing, is the use of fake Pakistani documents by non-Pakistanis because it has damaged Pakistan's reputation in the international community. "To check these activities, the government is introducing digital passport system." The interior minister said that issuance of digital passports will start by the end this year and the old ones would be replaced by the new ones. So all those terrorists, er, smugglers, er, human trafficers are not really Pakistani's, they just have fake Pakistani passports. Boy, I'm glad you cleared that up. You guys have been totally getting a bad rep. |
| Posted by:Steve |