Islamabad flays immigrants killing in Macedonia

Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned killing of seven immigrants by Macedonian police two years back in a staged anti-terrorism action.
Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Ahmed Khan while reacting to the reports said these are indeed shocking revelations.
This was a hideous and condemnable crime in which innocent six Pakistanis lost their precious lives, he added.
The Spokesman said this crime is even more shocking and heinous because these murders were pre-meditated and were committed to spruce up Macedonian's image as an ally in the war against terrorism.
It indeed was a diabolical plot, he said and added, "We commend the Macedonian government for making these revelations and initiating legal and judicial process."
He said Pakistani ambassador in Turkey, Sher Afgan, who is accredited to Macedonia, is in touch with the authorities in Skopje.
Meanwhile, Macedonia has admitted that seven innocent Pakistani and Indian immigrants were deliberately killed as "terrorists" two years ago in a bid to score points with the international community.
Former interior minister Ljube Boskovski has been implicated in the affair and charges have been laid against four police officers involved in the killings, officials said.
The six Pakistanis and one Indian national, gunned down by Macedonian special forces known as the Lions in March 2002, were initially accused of plotting attacks on Western embassies in Skopje.
But Macedonian officials acknowledged on Friday that the slaying of the seven immigrants was set up to show the world the former Yugoslav republic was doing its part in the US-led "war on terror."
"Police have concluded that it was staged, a monstrous killing of seven economic migrants," interior ministry spokeswoman Mirjana Kontevska said. "The whole affair was set up to score political points with the international community."
Parliament has lifted Boskovski's immunity and the former minister, a member of the main opposition party VMRO-Democratic Party of Macedonian National Union, is likely to be interrogated over the case.