News
Monday, January 24, 2011
PPP likely to come under fire over Karachi in NA
* PML-N, PML-Q, MQM set to raise voice over law and order issue
By Zeeshan Javaid
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party-led (PPP) government may come under fire today (Monday) from its rival parties over the issue of deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, as the 28th session of the National Assembly gets underway with NA Speaker Fehmida Mirza in chair.
Well-placed sources in opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), told Daily Times that the growing menace of target killings in Karachi would be discussed on the floor of the lower house by PML-N legislators in the early hours of the session. PML-N Central Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal, while expressing serious concerns of his party, said that the ruling PPP never took its coalition partner, PML-N, on board with regards to its tactical planning to control the situation and preserve peace in the country’s financial hub.
He said that his party would ask the PPP to brief the National Assembly on the current situation of Karachi, adding that the PML-N’s agenda for the NA session was to make a demand of the government to take all the stakeholders in confidence to probe the issue of lawlessness in Karachi.
Iqbal further said that his party had been planning to bring a resolution in the assembly’s session through which the government would be asked to name those responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi.
He questioned why law enforcement agencies, including police, rangers and some secret service agencies, had failed to stop killings of innocent citizens and political rivals of two major political parties, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP), and other coalition partners of the PPP-led government.
“If a civilian government in a province fails to establish the government’s writ, then the constitution allows that province to ask for army’s help to control situation” the PML-N leader remarked.
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) MNA Waqas Akram Sheikh was of the view that his party would also raise the issue. He suspected that other issues concerning price hike and construction of luxurious lodges for MNAs at a cost of Rs 3 billion might be debated in the National Assembly’s session.
Sources said that the MQM will follow the other major political parties and will speak about the hot issue of law and order situation in Karachi.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk