9000 Blackwater agents in Islamabad, says Jamiat

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Fazlur Rehman has claimed that 9,000 agents of US-based private security firm Blackwater are operational in Islamabad. The Daily Times quoted Fazl as saying that Blackwater is responsible for carrying out Taliban-like terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Rehman pointed out that more Blackwater personnel were present in Islamabad than policemen, as the capital has only 7,000 policemen on its payroll.

Earlier, the Jamiat's deputy chief Sirajul Haq and North West Frontier Province minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour also expressed concern over the presence of Blackwater operatives in Pakistan. In a statement before the National Assembly's standing committee on the interior, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik had claimed that he would resign if it was proven that Blackwater was operating in Pakistan.