PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly termed the Mutahidda Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) support for Hazara province ‘a conspiracy’ and strongly condemned the resolution tabled by the party in the National Assembly.
During Thursday’s session, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said MQM’s resolution favouring the Hazara province was a plot to “generate misunderstandings”.
While talking to reporters earlier in the day, the minister strongly criticised the MQM, alleging that party chief Altaf Hussain “was a blackmailer” and that the MQM has “set up a political circus to fool the general public”. The Awami National Party waited 63 years to change the name of the province, but followed proper procedures, he said.
“MQM has violated article 239 clause 4 of the Constitution by bringing a resolution into the National Assembly,” he said.
Members Javed Abbasi of the PML-N, Qalandar Lodhi of PML-Q and Mufti Kifayatullah of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam also condemned the MQM move and termed it ‘against the law’.
They added that they also support the Hazara movement but would follow proper procedures, in line with the Constitution. However, Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour tried to alleviate tensions in the assembly session, saying that present times did not allow for such confrontations.
“This is the time to stand firm against international conspiracies being planned against the country. Nato’s supply is still suspended and the war against terror continues. This is not the right time to raise issues like the Hazara province,” Bilour said.
Amended women’s rights bill
The assembly also approved the amended Enforcement of Women Ownership Rights Act, 2011, tabled earlier by PPP’s Noor Sahar.
The bill proposes an imprisonment of five years and penalty of Rs50,000 for violators. Police officials may also be awarded five years of imprisonment if they fail to implement court orders regarding the bill.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2012.
COMMENTS (5)
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So bringing resolution for new province in National Assembly is against constitution, while it was legal to suspend constitution in a district (Read:SWAT) by a resolution in National Assembly. Hypocrisy !!
Provinces does not emerge in a course like they have opted, and secondly hazara has only two districts, talk about sirayki province that would make sense a bit.
We support Hazara movment????? but hate the resolution bring it by MQM what that means? and why this hypocracy ANP and i think MQM is midlle class party and pakistani they have the right to speak for hazara and south punjab jaye mqm and Altaf Bhai.
As the discussion about new provinces goes on, ANP keeps exposing its prejudice against the people of Hazara, justfying the call for Hazara province. The sooner Hazara becomes a province, the better for the federation of Pakistan.
One recent good thing done by MQM is this.