LAHORE: Federal Minister for Pakistan Railways (PR) Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Sunday that the department had prepared a plan to ensure foolproof security of passengers.
Speaking at a press conference here at the Railways Headquarters, the minister said the PR was trying to buy modern gadgets to deal with terrorism incidents. He said terrorists could not be given a free hand to fulfil their nefarious designs. The minister said once again Khushal Khan Khattak express had been targeted near Kashmore, adding that a remote control device was used in the attack. Saad Rafique said local police and the administration defused another bomb device while five passengers were killed and 27 others injured in the attack. The injured were shifted to a local hospital.
The minister said Rs 500,000 each would be given to families of the killed while Rs 100,000 each for the injured. He said relief trains had been sent to repair the track and five information centres had been set up in Lahore, Multan, Karachi Cantt, Peshawar and Sukkur to facilitate realtives of the affected people.
Saad Rafique said the country was facing challenges due to wrong policies of the previous governments. The minister said he had talked to the DG Rangers Sindh, IG Sindh to beef up security, adding that standard operating procedure (SOP) was changed after declaring vulnerable areas.
He said the PR was introducing a new system of patrolling to save passengers from such incidents in future. Responding to a question, the minister said hideouts of outlaws were being identified and all possible measures were being taken to tackle them in a better way. To another query, the minister said the monitoring system which was being evolved would be introduced at the earliest.
Saad said it was collective responsibility of the PR, the ministery of interior and provincial governments to protect passengers from terrorist attacks. – APP
