Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday assured parents of the students missing since the Jamia Hafsa operation of government's full support to locate them.
Talking to around a dozen parents and relatives of those whose whereabouts have not been traced till yet, the Prime Minister said so far 23 bodies had been identified through DNA cross match and handed over to the relatives, while reports for remaining 37 tests were awaited.
"I feel very sad over the loss of precious lives," Prime Minister Aziz said and asked the parents to pray for Allah's blessings for those who lost their lives. He said results for 37 DNA tests were being conducted and hoped that the agony-of-wait for the parents and relatives would end. "We will continue our efforts till the last missing person is traced. We do understand the pain of parents as we too have kids and can understand their anguish," the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said soon after the incident, he directed the administration to set up a camp at the sports complex to guide and facilitate those searching for their loved ones.
He said the parents were permitted to visit Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi to verify the whereabouts of the missing persons and directed the officials of Ministry of Interior to conduct more such visits.
Prime Minister Aziz said the government showed a lot of tolerance, but the situation got out of hand and there was lot of pressure from the people and the media to enforce its writ. However the prime minister said it was time to forget the past and together work for progress and development of the country and strength of the nation. He said there was a need to project the true spirit of Islam, that preaches love, tolerance, brotherhood and understanding.
The Prime Minister quashed rumours about the number of dead and asked the parents to instead rely on government's facts and figures and check with the Interior Ministry that has been particularly tasked about this.
Parents of several children ageing 17 to 22 years said they talked with them on July 6 and urged them to come out of the seminary. However many of them said they could not, even if they wanted to.
The Prime Minister said the government delayed the operation to enable those caught inside to come out. "We breached the walls and used stun grenades, that cause no damage, so that those holed up inside could come out," the Prime Minister said and added that over 1,150 students managed to get out.
He said the government had to stop the parents from going inside Jamia Hafsa as they were being fired upon from inside. The parents hailing from different parts of NWFP, Murree, Rawalpindi and Islamabad narrated their last chat with their loved ones and urged the Prime Minister to speed up the process of DNA matching.
The Prime Minister directed the Secretary Interior Syed Kamal Shah to arrange another visit to Adiala Jail so that they may inquire about the whereabouts of their loved ones from their friends and colleagues.
Adviser to Prime Minister Khalilur Rehman, Secretary Interior Spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema (Retd) and officials of district administration were present during the meeting. The prime minister also handed over cash amount to the delegation to meet their travel and lodging expenses.