Banned outfits in Punjab accused of Shia attacks in NA
06 March, 2013
ISLAMABAD: The Karachi bomb blast triggered a heated debate in the Lower House of parliament on Tuesday, with extremists and banned outfits operating from Punjab accused of carrying out attacks against the Shia community across the country.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik assured the House that he would present a fact sheet on the recent wave of terrorism in the country against Shias on Wednesday (today) and would ask the Punjab government to sit with him to tackle the issue promptly. Malik pointed out that apart from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TPP) some other outfits are also involved in recent terrorist activities, while the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) is openly holding its meetings in Punjab without fear of law.
"Don't play into the hands of enemies. They want to destabilise the country," Malik urged in a House that was grieving the victims of Karachi's Abbas Town. He noted that there is no Shia-Sunni conflict in the country and said that instead of indulging in a blame game he would provide details of these incidents on Wednesday. Malik also suggested a joint sitting of parliament in which the IG Sindh and DG Sindh Rangers should be summoned to explain the failings that caused the Abbas Town tragedy.
The interior minister also advised the lawmakers to refrain from unnecessary criticism of him. Earlier, the House, after suspension of the heavy agenda on a private member's day to discuss the Abbas Town carnage under an adjournment motion moved by the MQM, witnessed fiery speeches from across the political divide with most members coming down hard on the Punjab government for letting the banned outfits operate freely from the province.
MQM's lawmakers sounded emotional and angry while discussing the Abbas Town tragedy and pointed out that terrorists are operating under the patronage of the state because of their free movement in certain parts of the country. He deplored the perceived silence of political and religious parties on terror incidents. Party member Wasim Akhtar disclosed that President Asif Ali Zardari knew about the elements involved in the recent incidents and urged him as supreme commander of the armed forces to take action against the terrorists.
Speaking in the House, PML-N's Khawaja Asif said that instead of putting the blame on neighbouring countries, we should look into the internal forces which are conspiring to fuel sectarian violence. He expressed his lack of confidence in parliament, saying it had delivered nothing to the nation in the last five years. PPP's Noor Alam Khan lashed out at the Punjab government, asking how many terrorists belonging to the banned outfits have been nabbed in the province. He claimed that members of banned outfits are moving freely with a provincial minister.
He brushed aside the notion that the PPP wants to delay the elections on the pretext of recent terror attacks and said that the elections would be held in time and the PPP would again win them. Meanwhile, ANP's Himayatullah Miar called for getting rid of the policy of "good Taliban and bad Taliban" and said that the so-called jihad being carried out should be ceased immediately. Himayat said that a clear-cut policy should be devised to talk only with those people who are willing to come to table under the ambit of constitution. He also called for questioning the generals over their "inaction against terrorists".
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