ISLAMABAD: Senate held a discussion on Sahiwal incident on Monday and demanded action against those responsible for the Sahiwal incident.
Speaking on a point of public importance in the House, Leader of the Opposition Raja Zafarul Haq demanded an open discussion and transparent investigations into the incident to take the culprits to task. He said, “We reject the so-called joint investigation team (JIT) and want action in a real sense.”
Sherry Rehman said that the ever-changing stances of Punjab and the federal governments have created concern among people regarding a true probe into the Sahiwal incident. She said that killing of parents in front of their children is very painful, adding that the tradition of extra-judicial killings should come to an end in Pakistan.
Sirajul Haq said that it is a very serious matter as the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees right to life to every citizen. He said that the government has taken several U-turns over the matter. He said that the government has vowed to give exemplary punishment to the culprits, but in the same breath, it dubbed the deceased people as terrorists.
Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said that a thorough probe is needed into the incident and putting it under the carpet will set a wrong precedent. He said that the chair should issue a strict ruling to take those responsible for Sahiwal incident to the task.
Usman Khan Kakar said that Punjab government claimed that the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) took action on the basis of intelligence reports that some terrorists were travelling in the vehicle intercepted near Sahiwal.
He said that strict action should be taken against those who provided wrong intelligence. He said that those, who are responsible for this incident, should be punished within one month after completing a detailed probe.
Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini said that no politics should be made over this matter and everyone should join forces for a true probe into this incident. He said that killings in Balochistan have become a routine and no one seems ready to take care of this. He demanded to form a parliamentary commission comprising opposition and the treasury benches to probe the Sahiwal incident.
Earlier, the Senate session started at the Parliament House with Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani in the chair. In the beginning, newly-elected senator from Balochistan, Manzoor Ahmed Khan Kakar, took the oath of office.
The House also offered fateha for the departed souls of former parliamentarians Syed Ali Raza Abidi and Malik Hakimeen Khan. The Senate unanimously passed a condolence resolution paying rich tribute to Malik Hakimeen Khan.
