2,090 martyred in sectarian attacks since 2008

23 Apr, 2014

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman informed the Senate on Wednesday that total 2,090 persons were martyred in sectarian attacks since 2008.

Answering a question, he said 104 persons were martyred in Punjab, 252 in Sindh, 22 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), 737 in Balochistan, 867 in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), 103 in Gilgit-Baltistan and five in Islamabad Capital Territory.

He said total 73 persons had been convicted in these cases so far, of which, 26 were from Punjab, eight from Balochistan and 139 from Gilgit-Baltistan. The information was provided by the provincial governments.

The minister said many cases in this regard were pending in courts and the government was taking several measures to expedite the same.

To another question, he the government was taking several steps to control cyber crimes in the country. The National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes (NR3C), which deals with enforcement of cyber crime laws, was also engaged in creating awareness on cyber/electronic crimes among the public and private sector through seminars and workshops.

The minister said it also conducted trainings for academia, lawyers, judiciary, law enforcement agencies and other government departments.

So far 162 training sessions had been held from 2007-2014 and 10654 personnel had attended the trainings in all major cities of the country., he added.

He said the website of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and NR3C i.e. www.fia.gov.pk and www.nr3c.gov.pk were also used for awareness of general public by relevant material.

However, due to paucity of funds, campaign could not be launched in the electronic and print media, he added.

The minister said an act to control cyber crime was in cabinet and soon would be presented in the Parliament. The government had introduced biometric system and blocked record SIMS with the cooperation of companies, he noted.

He said the government had conducted a record number of raids in the history of the country to control grey trafficking and caught equipment of billion of rupees.

The minister said the Federal Employees Cooperative Housing Society and Capital Enclave Islamabad had not illegally occupied 565 kanals of land of National Assembly Secretariat Employees Cooperative Housing Society, Islamabad.

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