The Senate on Thursday started discussion on law and order in the country, particularly in Karachi, with senators from the MQM‚ PPP and ANP saying they were not being provided level ground for participation in elections.
Initiating the debate‚ MQM’s Tahir Hussain Mashhadi said liberal parties were under attack across the country. He said these parties were being victimised because they were liberal‚ moderate‚ democratic and tolerant.
Haji Muhammad Adeel said some parties had a soft corner for terrorists and they were silent over terrorist activities hitting the election campaigns of leftist parties. He said the caretaker government had failed to provide protection to political parties to run their election campaigns.
Taking part in the debate‚ Syed Zafar Ali Shah said terrorist activities were going on in the country for the last many years, but the coalition government of the PPP‚ MQM and ANP that ruled for the past five years failed to address the law and order in the country while in power.
He said the prevailing law and order in the country was the result of policies of the previous government. He said the PML-N candidates were also facing terrorist threats but they were running their election campaigns nonetheless.
Earlier‚ the House condemned the attack on a private news agency “Independent News Pakistan” and demanded protection of journalists and media organisations.
Speaking on a point of order‚ ANP leader Haji Adeel said some miscreants attacked the office of the news agency on 28th day of the previous month and burnt the office down.
Leader of the House Farooq H Naik said journalists must be provided protection and the matter must be investigated to bring the culprits to book.
PML-N’s Mushahidullah Khan said the media was playing an important role in the country and its importance had increased manifold during the election process. He said journalists must be provided proper protection to carry out their duties.
PPP’s Maula Bakhsh Chandio said the attack on the INP was alarming and needed immediate attention.
Tahir Mashhadi said the agency suffered a loss of twenty million rupees and those affected must be compensated at the earliest.
Kamil Ali Agha said there was a need to ascertain the causes behind the attack and fixing responsibility.
Speaking on the occasion‚ the chair ruled that the Interior Ministry must investigate the matter to bring the culprits to book and submit a report at the earliest.
The chairman said the Interior Ministry and Information Ministry must look into the matter together to compensate the affected people.
Interior Minister Malik Muhammad Habib Khan assured the House that the ministry was closely looking into the matter and the case had been registered.
He said the issue had also been raised with the prime minister during a meeting on Thursday, adding that the government would ensure the protection of the journalists.
Earlier‚ journalists staged a walkout from the House in protest over the issue.
