Parliament has failed

Citing Sindh High Court’s decision to revoke the ban announced by the Interior Ministry on motorcycle riding in Karachi for the 1st of Muharram, Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday said the parliament had failed. Speaking in the Senate on Friday, Malik said he respected the decision of the Sindh High Court, but the move to keep motorcycles off the roads was right as motorcycles provided an easy mode of transportation to terrorists and were used in most terror activities.
However, Senator Raza Rabbani objected to the federal minister’s claim and said the parliament had not failed, adding that parliament could not give a stamp of approval to weak legislation.
Appealing for the passage of Anti-Terrorism Bill, the interior minister said the provincial governments and prime minister were taken into confidence prior to decision on imposition of ban on motorcycle riding in Karachi and Quetta. Malik said the decision to ban motorcycles was taken in view of information received that a motorcycle would be used as a bomb on the first day of Muharram in Karachi.
“This is a very important national concern and I want to share with the House that there was a plot to use motorcycle bombs on Friday. I took the prime minister into confidence and also sought approval from the Sindh chief minister in order to thwart the designs. I had issued the directive under Article 148,” Malik said.
He said motorcycles were used in 438 bomb attacks across the country during the current year, whereas 96 motorcycles were destroyed in bomb attacks in Karachi alone.
The minister said he would appeal in the Supreme Court against the Sindh High Court’s decision against the ban imposed on motorcycles in Karachi.
Senator Babar Awan also criticised the decision to keep motorcycles off the roads and called the move illegal.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) staged a walkout from the Senate session over the situation in Karachi, with party Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri saying the government had lost its writ in the port city and was not serious about improving the situation.
Shahi Sayyed of the Awami National Party (ANP) demanded those getting criminals freed in Karachi should be uncovered. Speaking on a point of order, Abdul Qadir Baloch and Sheikh Salahuddin said all state institutions were aware of the challenges facing the country. “The interior minister must state what steps have been being taken for the protection of life and property of the public,” they said.
Usman Khan raised the point that Khuzdar Civil Hospital and Press Club had been closed for the past one month. “The doctors have either got themselves transferred or are on long leaves,” he said. Talking to reporters outside the Parliament House later, Malik said his decision regarding the ban on motorbikes was subjected to immense censure, adding the government had been scrambling to get passed the Anti-Terrorism Bill for four years.
“We don’t quarrel. We abide by the law. We act upon whatever the court orders us,” Malik asserted. “Whatever I do, I do it for public welfare,” he said, adding that the use of motorbikes was banned on the basis of intelligence reports.
Malik maintained that during 2011, at least 28 motorbikes were used in terror activities, 204 in Balochistan, three in Islamabad and one motorbike was used in a bombing in FATA.
Calling Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif “Tandoor Sharif”, Malik said the people could not be befooled by singing songs, claiming that criminal elements were most active in Punjab.
Malik called upon the Punjab government to stop personal publicity campaign and spend public money for the welfare of the masses.