Rawalpindi violence: Opposition asks govt to call parliament session

Khursheed Shah cites security lapses; says tragedy could have been averted.

ISLAMABAD:

The opposition Pakistan Peoples Party demanded that a joint session of parliament should be convened to discuss the recent violence in Rawalpindi. 

“Opposition will submit the requisition for a session of the Parliament if the government did not summon the session,” said leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Shah said that the tragedy could have been averted had the security arrangements been better.

On November 15, sectarian clashes had erupted at an Ashura procession in Rawalpindi that left at least 11 people dead and over 80 injured. Unidentified people had also set a portion of the cloth market in Raja Bazaar on fire. A curfew was imposed in the city after Friday’s violence to control the tension.

Shah also called upon the government to convene a meeting of the religious scholars who could play their part in defusing the ongoing tension.



The leader of opposition also criticised the prime minister and said, “It is high time that Nawaz Sharif addressed national issues instead of going on foreign tours.”

Putting forward a list of demands, Shah said that Pakistan was facing multifaceted problems and these needed to be tackled on priority more than anything else.

In response to a question of whether there were any foreign elements involved in the incident he snapped back asking, “Where were the local security agencies to stop this violence if any foreign hand was involved in it?”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2013.