ISLAMABAD  - In a jaw-dropping revelation about the Islamabad court attack, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan said on the floor of the National Assembly that Judge Rafaqat Awan was not killed by militants but by his own guard’s accidental gunfire at the time of the attack.
Nisar said the judge and his staff had locked themselves up in the retiring room but unfortunately the security guard inadvertently shot the judge. He said the guard had pulled out his pistol and had his finger on the trigger while standing with his back against the wall. He said that when a suicide attacker blew himself up yards from the room, the guard opened fire, perhaps in panic.
Nisar said: “The guard has confessed and autopsy also showed that the judge was not killed by Kalashnikov fire but by a pistol’s.”
The judge’s guard told investigators that he along with additional sessions judge was trying to stop terrorists to come inside the room when two bullets were fired accidentally from point blank. The judge received bullets to his chest and arm. A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprising four agencies is investigating the matter.
The interior minister admitted flaws in security agencies, but said they have also smashed big terrorist networks in the country. He asked the lawmakers to avoid giving statements without any evidence as message of unity should be given on such incidents. “In other countries, opposition and treasury give message of unity after such incidents, but in our country the case is different,” he said.
About the federal capital, he said over 0.2 million people are living in the suburbs without identity cards.
Earlier, taking part in security debate, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman stressed the need to expand the dialogue process to other groups in Fata. “TTP has been given status equal to that of the state, which is a joke,” he said.
“The interference in finance, administrative, and syllabus of religious seminaries will not be compromised...It would be considered as announcement of a war,” the Maulana cautioned his coalition partners. “It would be American policy,” he said.
PPP member Imran Zafar Leghari opposed the idea of army’s representation in the peace committee.