Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Interior Affairs Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Tuesday that some arrests had been made related to the recent Civil Hospital Quetta blast and a few connections had also been identified.

Speaking at the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar said that suspects had been arrested in connection to the recent acts of terrorism that had taken place in Quetta and that some fingerprints had also been obtained from the scene of the blast. However, he informed that it was later discovered that these belonged to a victim and not the terrorist himself.

He further clarified that a boy was earlier considered to be a suspect but in reality he had nothing to do with the attack. He also said that the pictures obtained from the scene of the blast could not help in in identifying the attacker.

He said that the head of the suspect was found but it could not be identified due to the condition it was in and no advancements could be made in the DNA of the suspect as well. Addressing the Mathew Barret issue, the blacklisted foreigner who managed to enter Pakistani territory, the minister said that an investigation was being carried out regarding how the American had been issued a visa in 24 hours.

He added that Mathew had obtained the visa on account of the negligence of the visa officer. He also said that the police had arrested Mathew for roaming in a prohibited area. He said that the FIR that was registered against Mathew did not mention anything related to spying.

Talking about the National Action Plan committee, the minister said that it would ensure implementation on the plan and revealed that it had been decided to convene a meeting of the chief ministers in the next couple of days.