News
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
MPs ask government to take ‘final decision’ on terroristsBy Tanveer Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Monday mourned the church attack in Peshawar by condemning it through a unanimously adopted resolution.
The legislators termed the attack against the Christian community as heinous and brutal, and some voices called upon the government to take a final decision against the terrorists. The House, however, looked divided, with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) emphasising taking a defensive position against the terrorists instead of showing weakness. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam of Fazlur Rehman advocated dialogue process to be taken forward for the sake of peace in the country.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, while declining to talk extensively on the responsibility of the church attack, vowed to take its perpetrators to task and pleaded that the resolution of the All-Parties Conference (APC) should not be distorted in view of this incident. Nisar told the House that a meeting of the Christian leaders is being convened within the next few days to evolve a national-level plan for the security of places of worship and resolution of other problems of the minorities.
He said the repair of the Peshawar church would be carried out at government s expense. The minister said one militant group had claimed responsibility for the attack but he cast suspicion on the claim of responsibility, saying the group has no presence in the region. He said one hundred and thirty-seven people were injured in the attack and ten of them were in critical condition. Nisar assured the House that the perpetrators of this terrorist attack will be traced and brought to justice. He said a policy‚ plan and infrastructure would be prepared for the security of the places of worship. “We should give a message of unity on this occasion and should not do politics on such kind of tragedies,” Nisar said, adding that joint efforts were needed to counter the terrorists.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah announced to give the mandate to the government to take a final decision on the issue of terrorism. However, he called upon the government not to take a weak stance that would strength the terrorists. He assured the government that opposition would not do political point-scoring on this issue. PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi commended the attack but advocated for the dialogue process to move ahead. MQM’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui urged decisive action against terrorism, arguing any delay would strengthen the hands of the militants.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk