Omer Cheema's abduction, torture: Senate Panel summons Interior Minister, PTA, Nadra officials

Senate's Standing Committee on Human Rights has summoned Interior Minister, PTA and Nadra officials to appear before the committee with all relevant record and update the panel on the progress made in the investigation pertaining to the abduction and torture of senior investigative journalist, Omar Cheema.
The committee met here on Saturday with Senator Afrasiyab Khattak in the chair at the Parliament House to discuss the issues of Parachinar and Omer Cheema case. Inspector General Police (IGP) Islamabad gave a detailed briefing to the committee regarding Cheema's case.
The committee was informed that after the incident when the journalist approached the company to get his SIM of his mobile phone blocked, he was told by the company that the SIM had not been issued in his name, so it could not be blocked. The committee while expressing serious concern on the continued blockade of Tall-Parachinar Road for the last four years due to unrest, decided to write a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari to redress the issue on priority basis.
Taking up the issue of Parachinar, Kurram Agency, the Chairman of the panel observed that writ of the government in the agency was so weak that militants were openly conducting their activities against local tribesmen. The committee also summoned Interior Secretary in its next meeting to brief the members on the progress to reopen the road.
Secretary Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Habibullah suggested that the government should enforce its writ to establish peace in the agency and the terrorists and miscreants should be dealt with iron hand. The secretary Safron and Additional Chief Secretary FATA told the committee that only locals should be permitted to reside in Kurram Agency and all those militants and external elements should be forced to quit.
Briefing the panel, Political Agent Kurram Agency Syed Mussadiq Shah said that the genuine problem of the locals was that the only Parachinar airport was not functional. He also urged the committee to send its recommendations to the Ministry of Defence to extend the airport and restore the PIA flights to the area, which once remained functional.
He also told the committee that Taliban and other hardcore elements were present in the Lower and Central Kurram areas who were playing havoc with the lives of innocent people. Committee member Mian Raza Rabbani assured his support to the people of Parachinar, saying that the issue would be taken up with the top government functionaries. He also suggested that the committee should write a letter to the President to redress the issue. He further suggested that Interior Minister should be summoned in the next meeting of the committee.
Rabbani further said that the demand by the locals to deploy Turi Militia in Kurram Agency should be fulfilled if it could assist in brining peace to the area. He also urged the government as well as all the local groups to implement the Murree Peace Agreement signed by all local tribes of the area.
The committee chairman said that the issue of closure of the Parachinar airport would be raised with the Minister for Defence Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar. Earlier, people belonging to Parachanir briefed the panel about the plight of the locals due to the closure of the only road that links the entire region with rest of the country, where a population of 0.5 million have been left on the mercy of the militants. They told the committee that the road is closed due to acts of terrorism for the last four years that caused severe shortage of edibles and life saving drugs in the region.