Question : THEFT OF HERITAGE PISTOL

(a) whether the pistol that went missing from the National Museum was not the one that was handed over by Gen. Niazi at the time of surrender in 1971;

(b) if so, the motive behind wrongly projecting it as Gen. Niazi`s pistol;

(c) the action being taken by the Government against those guilty for the lapse;

(d) whether the true identity of the owner of the pistol has been established ; and

(e) if not, the steps being taken by the Government to identify the owner ?

MINISTER OF TOURISM & CULTURE ( SHRI JAGMOHAN )

(a) to (e) : Yes, Sir. As per the historical records available with the Ministry of Defence, the Pistol was the personal weapon of Rear Admiral Mohammad Sharif, Flag Officer Commanding East Pakistan Naval Forces. The Ministry of Defence had not projected the said Pistol as General Niazi`s Pistol, though the media has projected it otherwise.