Ostensibly angry over the criticism being faced by the government over its delayed response to rescue and relief operations in earthquake-hit Balochistan, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday lashed out at the opposition as well as the media accusing them of playing to the galleries over a natural calamity. Terming the opposition’s walkout from the House the other day as a media publicity stunt, Nisar said that the opposition had staged a drama just for “political point-scoring” in spite of the fact that the treasury benches had allowed them to move a resolution in solidarity with the quake-hit people.
The opposition’s walkout and protest and subsequent media reports had prompted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to send his interior minister to Balochistan to personally supervise the relief and rescue operation.
“Rather than playing to the galleries over a natural calamity, the opposition should have helped in the humanitarian response. This was not a man-made disaster. But if they (opposition) want to go for point-scoring, I can submit the parliamentary record to expose the negligence of the previous government,” said Nisar, adding that if the opposition did not behave, the government would have to respond to it in the same language, as it knew their weaknesses.
SHAH, NISAR LOCK HORNS: The minister’s remarks ignited a heated debate in the House. Opposition leader Syed Khurshid Shah took exception to Nisar’s comments, saying that the opposition only wanted to highlight the plight of the quake victims as the relevant officials were being indifferent to their situation.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi termed Nisar’s speech as “provocative”, saying that the opposition’s walkout was meant to shake the government out of slumber.
With the question hour ending, the interior minister took the floor to brief the House on the situation in calamity-hit areas of Balochistan.
The minister said that 348 people had so far been reported killed in the tragic incident and the death toll could increase due to the difficult terrain as the affected areas were still inaccessible to army and civilian administrations.
Opp’s criticism over quake relief irks Nisar
