Quetta tragedy: It’s about time to take hard decisions: Rabbani

SCBA demands operation against terrorism be expanded

ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani has said it is about time the state made some basic decisions, adding that tragedies like Monday’s Quetta blast will keep recurring if such decisions are not taken.

“If the state does not take hard decision then such kind of incidents will continue to occur,” Raza Rabbani said, while taking to media after meeting the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) executive body on Tuesday.

Rabbani was heading a seven-member delegation of senators that called on the SCBA officials to express solidarity with legal fraternity after massacre of over 70 people including dozens of lawyers in a suicide blast in Quetta.

The Senate chairman said parliament voted for the 21st Amendment in view of bad law and order situation but it provided no solution in the fight against terrorism.

“The attack on innocent lawyers was a cowardly act. However, such incident cannot shatter their morale,” he said, adding that the state would have to curb terrorism.

The Senate chairman said the lawyers had given a lot of sacrifice for the rule of law and democracy, which could not be neglected. He said instead of criticising each other we all should work together.

Earlier, in their meeting the SCBA demanded that the federal government immediately extend the operation against terrorists throughout the country. On behalf of legal fraternity, the SCBA President Ali Zafar presented their four demands before the Senate delegation.

During the meeting, SCBA president also complained about the silence of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, who, he said, did not announce any steps for ensuring the security of lawyers after the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2016.