Lawmakers slam Obama’s avowal to continue drone strikes

On Monday, US president had said the United States would continue drone strikes on Pakistani soil to go after threats

LAHORE: Lawmakers in the Provincial Assembly passed a resolution on Tuesday condemning United States President Barack Obama’s statement that the US would continue drone strikes on Pakistani territory. The resolution was moved by Leader of the Opposition Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and was passed with an amendment moved by Law Minister Rana Sanaullah.

The resolution says: “This House believes that the statement about continuing drone strikes in Pakistan is alarming and condemns it. The House demands that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should take all national political leadership into confidence and announce a courageous policy about the independence and sovereignty of our country”.

The resolution was brought out of turn. On Monday, the Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution condemning a drone strike in Pakistan which is believed to have killed Taliban Chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in the Kuchaki area of Naushki district in Balochistan.     Sanaullah also presented an out of turn resolution on the Orange Line Metro Train on Tuesday. The Opposition had opposed it but it was passed by the treasury benches.

The resolution thanked the Chinese government and its people for transferring the first instalment of Rs33 billion, meant to be used for the Metro Train, to the provincial government. It said that an estimated 300,000 people would initially benefit from the Metro Train. Around 500,000 commuters would use it on a daily basis later. The resolution said the project would reduce environmental pollution and will provide affordable transportation services to people. It said studies conducted in 1991 and 1997 had both recommended such a mass transit system for Lahore. However, they had not been considered by previous governments. He said in five years the project would become an asset worth Rs450 billion for the country.

After the resolution was passed, the law minister requested Speaker Sher Ali Gorchani to allow lawmakers to speak about it. Faiza Malik of the Pakistan Peoples Party criticised the law minister for presenting a resolution out of turn to laud the chief minister. She said it had not been brought on the agenda, and therefore, the Opposition could not counter it. Responding to Malik, Sanaullah said that the CM had announced that the Orange Line Metro Train Project and the Safe City Project would be taken to the National Accountability Bureau and Transparency International for scrutiny. “The government would provide all the documents and procedures adapted to these institutions so that they can decide whether the process was transparent or not.”

Parliamentary Secretary Ramazan Siddique Bhatti answered questions about Local Government and Community Development Department during the question hour.

The Speaker asked representatives of government departments who had failed to answer queries on time to explain why they were unprepared. Speaking at a point of order MPA Arif Abbasi said the government should lift a ban on issuance of arms licences.

The house passed five resolutions of public interest on Tuesday. A resolution by Shaikh Alauddin, demanding that the federal government confer Nishan-i-Pakistan awards on Mullab Abdul Qadir, Maulana Qamaruz Zaman, Salahuddin Qadir Chaudhary, Motiur Rehman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mujahid who had been hanged in Bangladesh, was unanimously approved.

A resolution moved by Ahmad Khan Bhachar demanding the establishment of a university for people with disabilities was approved. A resolution by Gulnar Shahzadi saying that schools affiliated with boards in the Punjab should hold education activities according to the government’s calendar was approved.

A resolution by Chaudhry Amir Sultan Cheema demanding a ban on illegal ‘lucky draws’ used to swindle citizens was approved. A resolution by Khadija Umar demanding action against cartels of hoarders ahead of Ramazan was unanimously approved.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2016.