ISLAMABAD, Aug 19: In a new twist to the August 15 standoff in the capital city, the inspector general of police (IGP) on Monday said the gunman worked for terror outfits and planned to take the parliament house ‘hostage’.

Sikandar Hayat, the IGP, added that the gunman wanted to make hostage all those present in the parliament house in the evening of Aug 15.

However, on that day the National Assembly session was held in the morning and adjourned in the afternoon.

The IGP said the gunman had been working with terrorists and militant outfits for a long time.”

He was also helping terror outfits carry out their activities and also acted as their handler and facilitator, he added.

The IGP said the gunman, Sikandar, operated militant groups in foreign countries, including Dubai, for the last five years.

The gunman used his wife and children as a human shield to carry out his activity, the IGP said. The arrested wife of the man is revealing the details about her husband and his act which would help the investigators arrest his accomplices and unearth his network and links, he added.

Meanwhile, the inquiry committee submitted a report to the interior minister stating that the gunman had agreed to surrender shortly before PPP leader Zamarud Khan breached the security cordon and tried to get hold of him, sources said.

He along with his wife and children was leaving the spot to embark in a car parked at the service road towards a house at F-6 when all of a sudden Zamarud Khan breached the security line and made an attempt to capture him.

During a series of meetings held at the interior ministry, it was also stated that during negotiations between the police, capital administration and Sikandar, the latter had agreed to use another vehicle to travel to the house which had been arranged by the police.

Police commandoes were deployed at the house in the disguise of house servants while police officers, including the SSP, were to negotiate with the gunman. During the negotiation, the gunman would be overpowered.

BLAME GAME: A blame game has started between the police and the city administration about the delay in taking action against the gunman during standoff.

The blame game began after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ordered an inquiry into the incident.

During the inquiry, the three-member committee of senior officers of the interior ministry asked SSP Dr Mohammad Rizwan why he had approached the gunman and negotiated with him without being authorised to do so under the law.

The committee criticised the role of the SSP for not involving the officers of the capital administration in the negotiation.

The capital administration also criticised the role of the police, especially the SSP, for starting the talks with the gunman.

The administration is of the view that the outcome could have been different had its officers negotiated with the gunman.

On the other hand, the police told the committee that initially the gunman had refused to talk to anyone and demanded that senior officers from the armed forces and its intelligence agency – ISI – should be called to the spot.

Later, the gunman himself called the SSP for talks by sending out his wife.

Neither the police nor the administration officers met the gunman for negotiation on their own, sources said, adding the negotiation with the gunman took place when he sent his wife to the security line and called the SSP.

The sources said at an early stage the area assistant commissioner and magistrate had accompanied the senior police officers, including the SSP, to talk to the gunman.

Besides the SSP, four SPs and three ACs were present on the spot. The police were acting under the command of the SSP, but there was no officer from the city administration equivalent to the rank of the SSP.

A senior officer of the capital administration on the condition of anonymity said according to the law and practice only the administration can negotiate with anyone and police acted under its direction.

However, police officers contested the claim and said the police rules also empowered their seniors to negotiate. Meanwhile, the gunman – Mohammad Sikandar – has regained consciousness but is yet to record his statement.

“Whenever policemen start talking to him, he loses consciousness after replying a few queries though he is not under the influence of any tranquilisers,” the sources said.

They, however, added that the policemen guarding the gunman had succeeded to get some information from him and submitted it to the Joint Investigation Team.

On the light of the information, the police raided three places – two in Pasroor and one in Azad Kashmir - which led to the arrest of three persons.

One of the close friends of the gunman, who lived in Dubai with him, was arrested from Pasroor. He had allegedly helped Sikandar buy the two guns against Rs100,000 on August 6.

The arm dealer was also arrested and brought to Islamabad for investigations.The arm dealer told the investigators that he had sold the weapons to Sikandar but did not know the motive behind the purchase.

During the raid in Azad Kashmir, the investigators picked up a man who worked as a constable with the AJK police and was posted on the Line of Control, the sources said, adding the arrest was made in the light of the cellphone record of Sikandar.

The gunman told the police that he had purchased the weapons from Pasroor and brought them to the capital in the luggage of his children. He said initially he had no plan to take such an action “but did it in a fit of anger,” the sources quoted him as saying.

But the gunman failed to satisfy the investigators why he was carrying the automatic and prohibited weapons. Besides, the recovery of a water can, stock of cigarettes, energy drinks and retirements from his car, which were purchased a few minutes before the standoff, suggested that it was a planed move and not the result of an abrupt anger.

His wife, who worked in a media house as an intern, had also approached some journalists to cover the incident.

At one stage during the standoff, interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan asked the police if they had any stun gun, the source said.

The police replied that they had a gun but it can only be used from a distance of five feet. Besides, the police had no expert to handle the gun.

In response, the minister said it was better to catch the gunman instead of using the gun against him.