Interior Min issues 'Red Book' on human traffickers

Islamabad, Aug 26: The Pakistan Interior Ministry has said 134 terrorism-related incidents had taken place in the country during the first five months of this year.

Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told the National Assembly yesterday that 129 people had been killed and 354 injured in terrorist acts between December 2005 and April 19, 2006.

The Interior Ministry revealed that 26 vehicles, 625 shops, eight buildings, seven electric polls and six banks had been either destroyed or damaged during the terrorist acts. The Sindh government alone, it said, had intimated losses of more than Rs 15 million due to terrorism-related incidents.

On a separate issue, Parliamentary Secretary for Interior Sanaullah Mastikhel informed the assembly that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had issued a ''Red Book'', disclosing the names of 66 criminals wanted by the agency on human trafficking-related charges.

Mr Mastikhel said the dossier, released in July 2006, had set a precedent for tracking down those charged with human trafficking offences.

Both Britain and the United States lauded the efforts of Pakistan to curb this global menace, he added.

The consolidated information provided by the Red Book, he said, had been disseminated to various agencies charged with securing the arrest of the offenders.

He noted that since most of the offenders had managed to leave the country, their details had already been passed on to international law enforcement agencies through the Interpol.

UNI