The mysterious fire that broke out in a 16-storey state owned building in Islamabad on Tuesday night reportedly destroyed valuable records containing sensitive information on Islamic militant outfits, some of them which were banned by the Pakistan government.
The 16-storey building has been largely gutted in the fire and fire officials said that more than 10 floors were completely destroyed in the blaze which raged for over five hours on Tuesday night.
The fire was initially noticed in the top 16th floor which reportedly housed the records of the militants outfits. The fire raised eyebrows in Islamabad as it took place barely days after President Pervez Musharraf's ban on five militant organisations including groups such as Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Quoting official sources, Pakistan daily The Nation said the Interior Ministry kept its confidential record of religious and militant organisations at the 16th floor. "The record of recently banned religious organisations and jehadi outfits was also said to be there," it said. There was no official comment on the report so far.
Besides, the records of the jehadi
outfits, the records of arms licences issued to thousands of individuals
were also destroyed in the fire, it said.