Law and order situation: MPs concerned over precarious security
Lawmakers in the National Assembly on Monday voiced their concern over deteriorating law and order situation in the country. Following Q&A session, they debated on the target killing of former MPA Dr Khalid Soomro.
There was a complete silence over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan’s countrywide December 16 shutter-down call in the house except a lonely voice of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s MNA Marvi Memon who criticised the PTI chief for his ‘hidden agenda’.
No federal minister or any other member of the house raised the hot topic — deliberately or otherwise.
The leader of opposition in the house Khursheed Shah made a brief appearance in the house and later left to consult with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over who to pick as new chief of electoral body – the Election Commission of Pakistan.
It is interesting to note that so far in the country’s history – right from the murder of its first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan to assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, intelligence agencies could not expose the culprits behind such brutal killings of prominent leaders – the lower house unanimously adopted a resolution with a demand of immediate arrest of killers of JUI-F leader Dr Soomro, who was gunned down on November 29 in Sindh.
Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Awami National Party’s (ANP) Ghulam Ahmad Bilour questioned the role of all six military and civilian intelligence agencies. “Why they could not get any lead in such attacks,” asked Achakzai. “No one has the right to kill someone,” he added.
“We have powerful army, powerful intelligence network and powerful people so the intelligence agencies must expose the names of culprits as they are not so incompetent,” Achakzai noted. They must tell us who is behind the attacks on ANP’s chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, Qaumi Watan Party’s chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Pakistan Peoples Party’s chairperson Benazir Bhutto and many others, he further asked.
“The son of former prime minister (Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani) is in the captivity of terrorists,” he lamented.
The JUI-F lawmakers staged a token walkout with a demand to arrest the culprits involved in the attacks, particularly on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
MNA Maulana Gohar Shah said that foreign agencies including RAW and Black Water are also operating in the country and the government must examine this aspect during investigation of these attacks.
PPP MNA Nawab Yousuf Talpur spoke about recovery of dead bodies in Sindh province, saying that no one should be targeted because of his affiliation with nationalist or political parties. MNA Ghulam Bux Mehar suggested that law and order should not be taken as a lighter issue and it was the responsibility of the provincial government to end such violence with the assistance of federal government.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2014.
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