Nisar, Memon indulge in blame game over airport attack

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD. Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon on Thursday slammed Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for his criticism of the provincial government’s handling of the Karachi airport attack that left scores dead. Pointing out weak spots in the security plan, Nisar said earlier that the Sindh government ignored the federal government’s recommendations to appoint competent officers and instead assigned chief secretaries at its own discretion. Talking to DawnNews, Memon criticised the government and said it is heaping the blame on the Sindh government to hide its flaws. “Nisar is trying to hide the government’s weakness and cast a cloud over the peace talks,” he said, lauding the Sindh police’s efforts alongside Rangers and military personnel to kill and repel terrorists. “The Taliban are attacking all over the country,” he said. “By entering dialogue with them they are trying to fool Pakistan.” He also said the ammunition used in the Karachi attack was traced back to Punjab. “Why are there no operations against extremists in Punjab?” he asked. While he admitted that the federal government has alerted the province about the threat from terrorists, he said that the government’s soft stance towards terrorists is the main hurdle in eradicating terrorism.