National Assembly session: Opposition fears power abuse, slams new PPO

MPs also call for multi-pronged strategy vis-a-vis the Taliban.

ISLAMABAD:

The broad consensus in the house after the prime minister’s speech was missing a day later, when the Protection of Pakistan (Amendment) Ordinance 2014 was up for discussion.

Opposition members called in question the amended ordinance that was promulgated in the National Assembly on Thursday, which they claim grants the law-enforcement agencies with unchallengeable police powers. The Jamaat-e-Islami even said the party would introduce amendments.

“They (security agencies) will misuse as much power as you give them,” said Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, the Qaumi Watan Party chief, which summed up the opposition’s concerns. “Our prime duty is legislation. [But] the government did not trust the house [and] opted to promulgate an ordinance,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rashid Godial from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) called the promulgation of the amended ordinance “a slap on the face of the parliament”. He criticised the government for not introducing an anti-terrorism policy but amending the ordinance instead.

The opposition, he said, will not vote in favour of the PPO and try to resist its passage.



In defence of the legislation, while concluding the debate on law and order, State Minister for Education Balighur Rehman said the new amendment clearly showed that the PPO specifically deals with foreign nationals and those in combat against the state.

“The Rangers’ hands were tied before this legislation.” The security agencies will only fire when they are fired upon, he assured the house.

The new PPO will resolve the long-standing issue of missing persons and illegal detention, he said, adding that such legislation shows the government’s efforts to curb militancy.

For the first time, the government is going to introduce a National Internal Policy, Rehman said. “It is astonishing that the country was in a state of war for the last 10 years but no such policy was formulated.”

Calling for a multi-pronged strategy

Members of the house also spoke on the prime minister’s decision to give peace talks a chance and name a four-member committee to facilitate the dialogue. Many welcomed the move, but others pointed out some nuances, something not seen during the previous day’s session.

“Terrorism is a complex socio-economic issue and just holding talks will not work,” said Dr Nafisa Shah of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).  She suggested that the government should adopt a multi-pronged strategy and should not rule out the option of launching a military operation.

Shah implicitly opposed the forming of the talks committee saying, “In official circles, forming a committee over some issue means putting it in the cold storage.”

Nothing is known about the mandate of the committee—whether it would hold talks or just play the role of the communicator between the government and the Taliban. “Two members of the committee, Rahimullah Yousafzai and Irfan Siddiqui, had issued conflicting statements after the announcement,” she pointed out. “The government has taken the decision in haste.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2014.