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Senate body seeks report on Blackwater

* Interior Ministry officials say 284 ‘special Americans’ residing in 414 houses in Islamabad

By Tahir Niaz

ISLAMABAD: The Senate’s Standing Committee on Interior on Monday sought a report from the Interior Ministry on the activities of private US security firm Blackwater in Pakistan.

Senator Talha Mehmood, chairing a committee meeting at Parliament House, also sought a report on the total number of US diplomats and other citizens in the country.

Earlier, Interior Ministry officials told the body that 284 “special Americans”, including US diplomats, were residing in 414 houses in Islamabad.

Mehmood told the committee that a US national, recruiting agents for Blackwater in the guise of an NGO, was expelled, but was allowed to return to Pakistan in less than two months. He asked the ministry to inform the body about the person who allowed the US citizen to come back to Pakistan.

The Islamabad deputy commissioner told the committee that road blocks in front of Marriott and Serena hotels would end by November 14.

On October 30, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior expressed concern over the presence of US private security agency Blackwater in Pakistan and asked the Interior Ministry to submit a report on the matter to the panel.

During a meeting, presided by Abdul Qader Patel, the committee had discussed the issue of Blackwater’s “activities” and its presence in various parts of the country.

The members had said there were reports in the media that the US private security agency had been expanding its network in Islamabad and other areas.

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