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Files on Pak. extremists gutted?
By B. Muralidhar Reddy
ISLAMABAD, JAN. 16. Pakistan has ordered a probe into the fire that devastated 13 of the 16 floors of the Government building here.
The fire, which engulfed the Shaheed-e-Millat Secretariat building in the famous blue area, a few hundred yards from all the major Government buildings and the American Centre, was the focus of media attention as it housed several sub-offices of the Interior Ministry.
One English daily, The Nation, even speculated that several documents containing sensitive information related to the extremist, religious and militant outfits and issuance of gun licences were gutted.
On the basis of preliminary investigations, authorities are proceeding on the assumption that short- circuiting on the top floor of the building led to the fire and since the building was not equipped with proper fire-fighting equipment, it quickly spread downward and consumed the other floors.
Such was the intensity of the flames that civil authorities had to requisition the services of the military fire brigades.
The fire, which was first noticed at 6.40 p.m., was brought under control some 12 hours later.
Though there is no official word about the nature of the files and documents destroyed, it is believed that the files of over 20 offices of several Ministries, including the Interior Ministry, were completely lost.
An official statement today merely said that a technical committee had been set up to assess the losses and structure viability of the building.
The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, was appraised of the details of the incident at the Cabinet meeting. A press note said Gen. Musharraf had expressed unhappiness over the lack of proper fire-fighting equipment in high-rise buildings.
Shoot-out at Lahore airport
In another development, at least five security officers were injured in a shoot-out at the Lahore airport in the early hours of today when two gunmen in a car opened fire on them at the main gate of the airport. Sources said two men in a car arrived at the gate at 2.15 a.m. and opened fire.
As a result, five officers were injured, two of them seriously, before the gunmen escaped, Lahore police officer Mohammad Arshad was quoted as saying. ``The reason for the attack is still unknown,'' he said.
PIA plane forcelands
Meanwhile, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight with 250 passengers on board was forced to land minutes after takeoff today when a fire alarm went off in the cockpit.
``The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK- 721 scheduled for New York in the morning landed back at the airport soon after it took off, as its cockpit fire alarm got activated,'' a PIA spokesperson said. The aircraft was being examined. However, there was no trace of fire. The flight had been rescheduled, he added.
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