Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that due to effective measures taken by the government, incidents of target killings have been controlled to a great extent in Karachi. Winding up debate on the overall law and order situation in the country with particular reference to Karachi and Balochistan, the interior minister said that 90 target killers were arrested during this year from different areas of the city. Referring to the lacunae in the laws, he said the House should approve the Anti-Terrorist Act immediately to award exemplary punishment to the culprits of violence. Giving an overview of the steps taken in Karachi, Rehman Malik said that deployment of Rangers as well as intelligence setup has been increased in the provincial metropolis besides FC is also at the disposal of provincial government to check the situation. He said responsibility rests with the all the political parties to find a permanent political solution of the situation in Karachi. He demanded the formation of a parliamentary committee having representation from all the political parties to bring the entire facts regarding the target killers, drug mafia and the extortionists before the House. He pointed out that these elements are actively playing with the law and order situation in Karachi and collective efforts were needed to control the situation. He said the government on its part has set up a Crisis Management Cell in Karachi to check activities of extortionists. The law enforcing agencies in this regard have arrested 56 extortionists from the city besides 29 proscribed outfits have been banned to control the sectarianism and terrorism. He said that an Anti-Terrorist Cell of FIA has also been shifted to Karachi to identify the hotspots there. Similarly, SUPARCO is providing services for aerial surveillance of the city. Rehman Malik said that the situation in the tribal areas cannot be disconnected with the prevailing situation in Karachi and their tentacles also exist in the city to cripple down the system of the jugular vein and economic hub of the country. Rejecting blame game on the Karachi situation, he said it is not a good omen for the democracy and will not help in resolving the matter. He said that though the law and order responsibility is the provincial subject but the federal government is providing all the logistic and intelligence support to the provincial government of Sindh to deal with the issue. Expressing concerns over the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) explosions and terrorist acts, the federal minister said that as part of efforts NADRA has blocked twenty million unverified SIMs besides a decision has been taken to de-weaponise the entire country, particularly Karachi, in different phases. In the first phase old arms licences will be replaced with NADRAs computerised arms licenses. He said date for getting these computerised licences have been extended till the 30th of next month. These licences can be acquired from all the NADRA offices at the district level on nominal fee. The federal minister warned that strict action will be taken against the holders of illegal weapons after the expiry of the deadline. About Balochistan, Rehman Malik said that foreign elements are behind the disturbance in the resource-rich province. He requested an in-camera briefing of the House on Balochistan issue to look into the entire state of affairs there. He said that in the in-camera briefing he will be disclosing the names of countries and individuals involved in violence. About Islamabad, the minister said that 11 terrorists planning suicide attacks in different areas of the city including on the father of the president have been arrested. He said that due to effective security measures terrorist incidents have decreased in the federal capital. On the recommendations of the parliamentary leaders, the speaker decided to constitute a special committee of the House on the Karachi and Balochistan situation. The committee will present its report within two months. The motion in this regard was moved by Sheikh Aftab Ahmad and was adopted by the House. The House has now been prorogued.