Senate forms committee on missing persons, target killings

Opposition leader initiates debate on president’s address, says it ‘lacked soul’.

ISLAMABAD:

The Senate Chairman announced the constitution of a parliamentary committee to look into the issue of missing persons and increasing incidents of target killing in Balochistan.

Chairman Farooq H Naek said the committee will be finalised after consultation with the Leader of the House and the Opposition.

Senators from both sides of the aisle expressed their concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan while some repeated the claims voiced by locals, accusing security personnel of killing civilians.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who briefed the House on the security situation in Balochistan, refuted the allegations and claimed that in most cases outlaws impersonated officials of law enforcement agencies.

Malik told the Senate that on the recommendations of the judicial commission formed by the Supreme Court, a special committee chaired by secretary defence meets daily to track missing persons.

He said a judicial commission headed by Justice Fazalur Rehman is receiving complaints regarding missing persons and is also working for their recovery since March 14.

He said the commission has set up its office in Islamabad and he will request it to open branch offices in provincial capitals.

Malik said the judiciary and the executive are working in collaboration for the recovery of missing persons and a large number of them have been traced, out of the 6,000 who disappeared. He said the judicial commission has so far tracked 28 missing persons and it is working on the recovery of another 178.

Leader of the opposition Wasim Sajjad initiated a debate on the presidential address to the joint session of parliament, calling it a disappointment because it ‘lacked soul’.

Sajjad said the president did not highlight any strategy to address the challenges being faced by the country. He criticised the policy on war against terrorism and said that terrorism has been on the rise in the last three years despite military action.

He also expressed his disappointment over the omission of Kashmir issue from the Prime Minister’s agenda on his recent visit to India, adding that peace and stability could not be achieved in the region without resolving the Kashmir dispute.

Sajjad said it is now the responsibility of the provinces to concentrate on the provision of quality education, adding that Balochistan should be provided with additional resources for education. He also suggested withdrawing the decision to dissolve the Higher Education Commission to ensure a certain standard of education.

Sajjad said the government should focus on reversing the price hike and overcoming power crises and take concrete measure to improve the economy.

The Upper House will meet again on Friday.



Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2011.