Pakistani police and authorities had forewarnings of a strike by Taliban militants on the Army headquarters and yet no action was taken on the tip off, media reports said on Tuesday.
A Pakistani newspaper had published on October 5 extracts of a letter sent to Punjab police by the Interior Ministry, warning that militants in Army uniform were planning to target the Army General Headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
The paper said, such a strike was planned by Pakistani Taliban, working with the banned Sunni Muslim extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Coming down hard on the government, local media questioned why the attack was not thwarted. The papers were unsparing on the role of the Pakistan's ISI, whose offices were the main target of the attack by the militants and other intelligence agencies.
The Interior Minister Rehman Malik had to come to the defence of the security agencies, defending the intelligence network.
"Don't blame intelligence agencies. They have foiled several planned attacks. They gave us tip offs of at least 100 attacks before they were carried out," Malik said.
{{/usCountry}}"Don't blame intelligence agencies. They have foiled several planned attacks. They gave us tip offs of at least 100 attacks before they were carried out," Malik said.
{{/usCountry}}Malik vowed to wipe out Taliban and other militant groups and said the government had given a go ahead for the major military operation in South Waziristan.
"The government has given a go ahead and it is for the Army to choose the timing," he said.