Moroccan minister threats investigated

Security authorities in Morocco have launched an investigation on Thursday into the repeated assignation threats made against the Health Minister Al Hussein Al Wardi and his family. Wardi, who led a campaign against corruption in the health sector, has so far refused to comment. The health minister has however kept his daughter home from school and prevented his wife from leaving their house in Casablanca. After receiving more serious threats, the Moroccan interior minister has ordered intelligence officers to identify the persons responsible.   The investigation will also look into whether these threats have any link to terrorist groups that target members of the government and senior officials. Among political circles fear has spread that the warnings may be in response to the recent withdrawal of the Party of Progress and Socialism from government, following criticism made by Independence party leader Hamid Chabat. Chabat has been accused of consistently insulting the Party of Progress and Socialism’s minister and demanding that the prime minister remove them from parliament. The health minister also attributed the backlash to the party’s dismissal.  He said: “Those who threaten me and my family are the ones who benefit from the past system and object the reforms I intend to make.” Wardi is affiliated with the Party of Progress and Socialism. He dismissed a number of officials who belonged to the Independence Party immediately after acquiring the position.