News
Thursday, January 24, 2013
PML-N walks out of Senate against Karachi killings* JUI-F, FATA senators protest against governor’s rule in Balochistan, killings in FATA
By Ijaz Kakakhel
ISLAMABAD: Protesting against the deteriorating law and order situation and target killings in Karachi, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) walked out of the Senate on Wednesday.
PML-N leader Raja Zaffarul Haq said the situation in Karachi has become worse than Afghanistan. Indifferent attitude of the Sindh government towards the deteriorating law and order in Karachi is remorseful, he added.
“The situation of Karachi is going from bad to worse and there is no one to check it.”
Haq said that when the Supreme Court (SC) sits in Karachi and deals with the city’s situation, people expect that some solution may come out “but the situation is now becoming more alarming”.
Target killings in Karachi are rampant and the situation shows that there is no sign of government. On Tuesday only, he said, 20 people were killed in Karachi including a PML-N leader and his son.
As a protest, the PML-N senator also walked out from the proceeding.
Earlier, Mushahidullah of the PML-N also said the Karachi situation was deteriorating. He condemned the killing of PML-N leader and also killing of KP Senior Minister Bashir Bilor.
“Why can’t the government take Karachi law and order situation seriously which badly affects the whole country?” he said.
The protest comes less than a day after politician Mian Taimur, the PML-N’s deputy secretary in Sindh, and his father Mian Arbab were gunned down in Karachi’s upscale neighbourhood of Defence.
Mian Taimur was the second politician in a week to become the victim of target killing in Karachi, raising fears of violence as the country moves closer to general elections.
MQM Senator Nasreen Jalil said her party workers were mainly targeted in the ongoing target killing drive in Karachi. She claimed that target killings started last year and still continued.
She said that a few days ago, MQM MPA Mazhar Imam, was also targeted and killed in Karachi.
“We should work together to deal with the menace of terrorism not only in Karachi but in the whole country,” she maintained.
JUI-F Senator Heman Dass also walked out of the Senate against Governor’s Rule in Balochistan and killings across the country. The senator demanded that the government end Governor’s Rule in the province.
He claimed that the democratic government of PPP has removed the elected government of Balochistan “undemocratically”. The situation in other provinces is also “very serious” but still their governments are functioning, he said.
On the other hand, senators from FATA also walked out of the Senate against killings of 18 tribesmen in Khyber Agency.
Senate Standing Committee on Defence Chairman Mushahid Hussain Syed condemned a public advisory in Indian-held Kashmir telling residents to prepare for nuclear war by building basement shelters.
Rejecting Indian reports, the senator said there is no possibility of such a war between the two countries, and urged the government to take up the issue at UN forum. He also advised the government to take appropriate measures to defuse tensions between the two countries.
ANP Senator Zahid Khan informed the House that the Planning Division secretary has retired on January 4 and currently the post is vacant.
“All development schemes are badly suffering due to halt in release of funds to projects of national importance across the country.”
He alleged that the prime minister is busy in his own constituencies and diverted all development funds to his home constituency.
He told the House that the government should appoint secretary in Planning Division so that important projects may continue and complete in time.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk