ISLAMABAD – Awami National Party MNA Bushra Gohar Tuesday urged the government to cancel the extension given to the Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and called for a cut in the defence budget similar to that in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) because of the financial crunch.
Speaking on a point of order in the National Assembly, Bushra said the apex court’s decision for cancellation of extension given to all the government employees was a good sign and since the army was also a government institution, the verdict should also be applied to its chief. “Moreover, the appointment of ad-hoc judges is also a violation of this principle. Therefore, no judge should be appointed as an ad-hoc arrangement,” she added.
Bushra came hard over the Parliament for not supporting the amendment in the blasphemy law. “The Parliament was threatened against using its right to amend a law which was introduced by General Ziaul Haq. But when the critics lashed out at the Parliament, the prime minister started to tell them about his ancestral background rather than reminding them that it is the prerogative of the Parliament to amend the constitution,” she remarked.
She said 8000 cases of violence against women had been registered in Punjab only which was alarming. PML-Q’s Amir Muqam, on a point of order, diverted the attention of house towards omission of three terrorism-hit districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) from the list of loan write-off as suggested by the KP government.
“I can understand that Shangla would be deleted from the list as the ANP candidate has been defeated there. But what crime did the people of Lower and Upper Dir people had committed,” he argued, as he urged the prime minister to look into the matter.
