The Sindh Assembly passed a joint resolution against the Shikarpur attack on Monday. PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/EXPRESS
"The intelligence agencies failed to thwart the incident," said PPP minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani. "We demand the agencies to revisit their performance and make tangible efforts to prevent such incidents in the future."
Referring to the local police report regarding the attack, Bijarani said that no intelligence information was provided to the police, provincial government or local administration of any threats to the imambargah. "I would request the intelligence agencies to focus on the elimination of terrorists instead of tapping the phones of politicians to monitor their activities." The education minister, Nisar Khuhro, agreed with Bijarani. "The incident could have been averted had proper intelligence been provided."
The session chaired by the speaker, Agha Siraj Durrani, focused on the Shikarpur incident as various resolutions were moved by members of the treasury and opposition benches to condemn the attack. The agenda of the session was deferred and around 25 members delivered fiery speeches against the act of terrorism. A resolution offering condolences to the victims' families and demanding the government to pay the announced compensation as soon as possible was passed unanimously by the assembly.
As the session progressed, members of the opposition parties lashed out at the government for its failure to provide security to places of worship and equip hospitals with basic facilities. The treasury members termed, however, these claims as political rhetoric and point-scoring.
"Sindh is the land of Sufis where Muslims, Hindus, Shias and Sunnis have lived together for centuries," said Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MPA Poonjo Mal Bheel. "But now, conspiracies are being hatched to trigger sectarian violence," he lamented, adding that illegal immigrants, especially Afghanis and Bengalis, had started purchasing properties at exorbitant prices in Sindh.
Mehtab Akbar Rashdi of the Pakistan Muslim League - Functional expressed dismay over the growing trend of extremism in Sindh. "Sindh was the land of Sufis but those values are diminishing with each passing day. There was a time when humanity was above religion but crime and terrorist activities have now taken over," she said. Rashdi complained that after the blast, the injured were taken to hospital on pushcarts, motorcycles and rickshaws, due to the lack of ambulance services. "A majority of the victims lost their lives due to the unavailability of medical staff and facilities at the hospitals. This should be an eye-opener for our government," she hoped.
Adnan Ahmed of the MQM questioned why ID cards were issued to illegal immigrants in Sindh and demanded action against illegal seminaries, which according to him, played the role of nurseries for terrorists. "Why does the government not take action against the leaders of religious parties that are protecting these terrorists," he said.
The leader of the opposition in Sindh Assembly, Shaharyar Mahar, said they had met the chief minister, the chief secretary and the police IG and expressed grievances over the bleak law and order situation in the district but no one had taken them seriously.
But the government found nothing wrong with the situation, with Nisar Khuhro asking the opposition to refrain from unnecessary criticism. "What is wrong if people came out of their houses to take the injured to hospitals on pushcarts and motorcycles?" he questioned. "This shows how the people of Sindh are willing to help each other, irrespective of their religion or sect." He added that the provincial government had taken action against illegal immigrants but some leaders of a party sitting in the Sindh Assembly had opposed it.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2015.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ