Speaker of the Parliament and former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed has commended the report prepared by the Parliament's 241 committee on the May 6 terror attack that targeted him.
Nasheed was taken to ADK Hospital in Maldives' capital Male' on the night of May 6 after he sustained serious injuries in an explosion near his residence in Male'. According to the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), the blast occurred when an IED strapped to a motorcycle was detonated. Multiple critical surgeries were performed on Nasheed at ADK Hospital, and he is currently in the United Kingdom for further treatment after recuperating from his injuries in Germany. The parliament's 241 committee launched an inquiry into the attack following the incident and publicized its final report on Thursday evening.
Nasheed in a tweet posted Friday said the report prepared by the committee was very well compiled. He praised the work done by the committee's Chair and members as well as parliament staff, further noting that the 19th Parliament is uniquely different.
The report highlighted several acts of negligence that led to the attack and directed blame at Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi as Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb had alerted the Defence Minister that a funded attack was being targeted at Nasheed prior to the attack. The report also directed criticism at Home Minister Imran Abdulla for failing to conclude work on the Anti-Terrorism Act. During the parliament debate on the report, several MPs criticized both ministers and called on the government to take necessary action based on the findings of the report. Criticism was aimed at the government mostly by MPs loyal to Nasheed.
The report said the inquiry committee was informed by Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) that those arrested in connection to the attack were those of extremist ideology and that the motive behind the attack, and those who funded the attack remain unknown. Some members expressed concern that no progress was made in finding the motive and those behind the attack even after a two-month investigation.
As per the information collected by the inquiry commission, such an attack can be carried out by completing three critical stages: intent, capability, and access, the report noted. In this regard, gaining access to Nasheed was a critical step in successfully executing the attack, and the only measure that could have prevented such an attack was preventing access to Nasheed, the report said. In this regard, if Nasheed's drop-off and pick-up points were swept and cleared with police assistance, and electric countermeasures were taken to ensure his safety, the May 6 attack could have been prevented, the report further said.
While the committee report contained some information that could post threats to national security, such sections were blacked out in the report published on the Parliament website. However, the information was accessible to the public and some began publicizing the decoded information. The report was unpublished from the website after the matter was brought to the parliament's attention. However, the document had been downloaded several times by then.
