Islamabad: Pakistani authorities have launched a probe to ascertain how Malik Muhammad Ishaq, the chief of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who was detained in connection with attacks on Shias, and his sons obtained 11 arms licences from different provinces.
The probe will focus on how Ishaq and his two sons obtained the arms licences in Balochistan and Sindh provinces though they are residents of Rahim Yar Khan in central Punjab province.
The Punjab government has sought a reply from federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik on how Ishaq was allowed to travel abroad despite several cases pending against him under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.
A confidential report prepared by the Special Branch of Punjab Police sought “further action to investigate the matter”, The Express Tribune reported.
The Punjab government has sought details of the 11 arms licences issued by authorities in Sindh and Balochistan to Ishaq and his sons Malik Muhammad Usman and Malik Muhammad Haqnawaz.
Following countrywide protests over two terror attacks in Quetta that killed nearly 200 people, a majority of them Shia Hazaras, the Punjab government recently detained Ishaq under a public order law for a month. (PTI)
