Gone but not forgotten: Senate honours May 12 victims

House demands case should be registered against Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf for failure to control violence

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Tuesday paid tribute those that lost their lives eight years ago on May 12, 2007, for rule of law and demanded that a case be registered against former military dictator 'General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for his failure to prevent the bloodshed.

“Cases should be registered against the dictator and his accomplices for what they did in Karachi,” demanded Senator Usman Khan Kakar, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) member as he lamented that 'Musharraf’s actions were beyond the law’.

"Everyone knows what happened on May 12 when 50 people lost their lives while around 500 got injured but it is unfortunate that neither any case was registered nor the incumbent Chief Justice took notice (of the incident).”

He proposed that May 12 be commemorated every year as ‘Black Day’ unless, what he said, Musharraf and his collaborators are punished for their deeds.

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Senate chairman Mian Raza Rabbani, who was among the political workers who suffered at the hands of the then administration, recalled, “I was also in that procession and we bravely faced dictatorship.”

The chairman then asked leader of the opposition to offer prayers for the deceased.

Senators from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz also raised their voices against the former military ruler and demanded a detailed report of the steps taken by provincial government in the May 12 case.

“Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is in power for the last 10 years and it should have held an inquiry to reveal facts,” demanded Senator Ilyas Bilour of Awami National Party (ANP).

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Earlier, in response to a call attention notice by Sassui Palijo  regarding delay in announcement of 8th NFC award, Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir referred to Article 161 of the constitution and said that the government had fulfilled its obligation by constituting the 9th Commission on April 24, well ahead of the originally scheduled span of five years.

"First meeting of the commission has already taken place and the government has been working expeditiously to resolve the issue".

At this, chairman Senate said, “I do not want to give a ruling but the NFC award is supposed to be finalised and announced in five years.” He added that by the time the award would be finalised, budget for the next fiscal year would have been announced.

Dastgir, however, argued that the condition of five years was for the formation of the commission and not for finalisation of the award.

134 Pakistani fishermen still imprisoned in India: Senate told

During the question hour at the Senate on Tuesday, several matters were discussed where the House was informed that sa many as 134 Pakistani fishermen were still languishing in Indian jails with their release and repatriation rasied several times with New Delhi, Radio Pakistan reported.

Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir told the house that 134 Pakistani fishermen were still imprisoned in India even though 68 fishermen were released by India last year and 17 in the first four months of this year.

Further, in a discussion regarding overseas Pakistanis, the Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada said that nine facilitation counters at different airports have been established by Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) to facilitate overseas Pakistanis.

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According to Pirzada, a total of 65 officials are posted at the facilitation counters.

As the session progressed, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmad told the House that the work on Hassanabdal- Havelian Expressway, worth Rs30 billion is progressing and that the two phases are likely to take two years to complete.

"Different roads are being repaired in K-P at a cost of Rs4 billion," Ahmad added.

Minister of State for Education Muhammad Balighur Rehman said that 13 universities and higher education institutions offering science subjects have been established in K-P in the last ten years.

He said that the incumbent government had proposed either creating a university or a sub-campus of an existing university in each district of the country with the project likely to be completed in the next three years.

As the Higher Education Commission made the proposal, it is also focusing on training teachers to improve the standard of education in the country.

Cracking down on plagiarism

The Senate was also informed about action taken by the HEC to control and eliminate plagiarism in higher education through out the country by circulating its plagiarism policy to all stakeholders and universities for compliance.

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According to Rehman, plagiarism complaints received by HEC are forwarded to concerned universities for investigation. In recent cases, as many as 34 faculty members were black listed by HEC's Plagiarism Standing Committee.

Polio eradication

To a question, Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar informed the House that International Agencies monitoring polio have appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to eliminate polio in the country.

She said that the main issue was the non-accessibility to certain areas, stating that "Since the launch of operation Zarb-e-Azb and Karachi operation, we have gained accessibility to areas like North Waziristan, South Waziristan and Kadap, Karachi and have been successful as far as the vaccination drives are concerned."

Meanwhile, the proceedings of the House were witnessed by the spokesperson of the Kuwait National Assembly along with his delegation and which was welcomed by the chair in the gallery.

The House adopted a motion that the Chairman Senate in consultation with the Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition may constitute a Special Committee on the project of Pak-China Economic Corridor. The proposed committee should comprise members from all political parties having equal representation from the four provinces and representation from FATA.

The House resumed discussion on the Annual Report on the Observance and Implementation of the Principles of Policy in relation to the affairs of the Federation for the year 2011-12.

Taking part in the discussion, members said such reports should be submitted to the House for discussion within three months of the expiry of financial year.

Towards the end of the discussion, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmad said that all efforts are being made to establish an Islamic Welfare Society which is free of any discrimination.

He further stated that the government has also fixed quotas of women and disabled in a government jobs.

The autonomy has been granted under the 18th constitutional amendment to the provinces and the federating units are empowered to take their own decisions.

The Minister of State said Pakistan Baitul Maal and Benazir Income Support Programme are providing financial assistance to the poor.