NA express solidarity with Swati

Treasury members in the National Assembly, expressing solidarity with Azam Swati, demanded formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate the claims of the PTI about the leak of an objectionable video to his family.

Dr Nafisa Shah of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Religious Affairs Minister Mufti Abdul Shakoor, who belongs to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), said that violation of someone’s privacy was a violation of the Constitution, adding that parliament must take notice of the incident.

The National Assembly met with Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the chair. At the outset of the session, the house offered Fateha for departed souls of former caretaker prime minister Mir Balkh Sher Mazari and martyred policemen from Ghotki.

The passed a resolution condemning the arrest of former Punjab deputy speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari. The house was informed that the government would bear the fare of the students, using government school buses in the federal capital.

Debating the Swati’s video, Mufti Abdul Shakur said that PTI senator had been made a scapegoat. He said that what happened to Azam Swati could happen to anyone else tomorrow. “Even it could happen to me also,” the minister told the house.

Taking the floor, Dr Nafisa Shah said that it was regrettable policemen and officers were martyred in Ghotki attack. She also condemned the political victimisation of Dost Mazari, saying that the PTI was still indulged in politics of revenge.

Dr Shah also condemned attack on the PTI long march in Wazirabad last week. “An attack on a political gathering is an attack on politics,” she said. The attack must be investigated. Long march was Imran Khan’s Right,” the PPP lawmaker told the house.

She reminded the PTI that with rights, came responsibilities. She said that at the time of the martyrdom of late Benazir Bhutto, there could have been provocation, or a call for long march could have been given but, instead, party leader Asif Zardari gave sent the message of peace.

She said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan gave the call for another long march. “What are the demands of the long march,” Shah asked. “One demand is the election, the other demand is extension. The answers to both these issues are written in the Constitution,” he added.

Turning to the press conference of Azam Swati, she said that violating someone’s privacy was a violation of the constitution. She urged that parliament must take notice of the videos and form a parliamentary committee to investigate the issue.

Dr Fahmida Mirza of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) said that the 18th Constitution Amendment was being misused, as the meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) had not being called. She added that as per the Constitution, the CCI meeting must be held in 90 days.

Communications Minister Maulana Asad Mahmood of the JUI-F said that the current situation of the country, stemmed from the 2018 general elections. He added that the previous PTI government created political and economic instability in the country.

“We are fighting for political stability, supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law and economic stability in this country but the person imposed on this country never wants stability. This person [Imran Khan] is poisoning the minds of the young generation,” he alleged. “Now he is also targeting state institutions.”

Mahmood told the house that all political parties had condemned the firing incident on Imran Khan and expressed their condolences to the family of the martyred activist. However, he regretted that the incident was being used as a tool to fulfil a nefarious political agenda.

He recalled that some senior leaders of his party, the JUI-F, were also martyred, but “we never pointed finger at any state institutions”. He mentioned that 16 party officials were martyred in Bajaur district in one year, adding: “We have rendered sacrifices but we did not blame the state.”

The minister said that Imran Khan should not use the youth of the country for his nefarious designs. “More than 3 million boys and girls are receiving religious education in the Madrasahs across the country. They are the bright future of Pakistan which must be shown at the global level.”

Talking about the floods, he said that the flood victims were currently facing severe problems. “No single government or province can deal with these problems. The whole nation will have to come together to deal with this situation,” he added. Later, the session was adjourned till Thursday evening.