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| India-Pakistan |
| Lawmakers concerned over militancy, sectarian violence |
| 2009-04-22 |
| Members of National Assembly from all the parties expressed serious concerns on Tuesday over deteriorating law and order, unabated militancy and sectarian violence, and asked the political leadership to take cognisance before the situation reaches a point of no return. The proceedings started with condemnation and prayer for Shia leader Asad Zaidi, the deputy speaker of Northern Areas legislative council, who was assassinated in Gilgit on Monday. Members from both sides of the divide condemned the killing of the Shia leader and lamented that although they had repeatedly expressed their concerns, successive governments took no step to stop sectarian killings. Sufi's statements: The members of the opposition parties including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PML-Quaid (PML-Q) that had supported the passing of a resolution in the House asking President Asif Zardari to sign the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation in Swat, expressed reservations over the statements and intentions of Swat cleric Sufi Muhammad. JUP: Sahibzada Fazal Karim from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP), an ally of PML-N, said a local leader of his party who belonged to a different sect than the Taliban had been killed recently, after the implementation of Nizam-e-Adl. He said the sharia of a particular sect was unacceptable. Khurum Dastagir, a PML-N leader, said the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation placed before the parliament stated that the state would have administrative control over the region and it will be the authority of the provincial government to appoint qazis and judges. "But it seems that the federal and provincial government have abdicated their role in the restive region," he said. The PML-N leader said in no Islamic country other than Pakistan had clerics been given a free hand. He said the parliament must play its role before the situation turns abysmal. Nadeem Afzal Chan and Sajid Ahmed of treasury benches asked the government to hold an All Parties Conference on the issue of growing militancy and Talibanisation. The MQM members also asked the government to come up with a comprehensive policy on militancy. Some of them also criticised the growing incidents of kidnapping for ransom especially in Sindh province. Later, the House took up legislative business. All four private members' bill on the Order of the Day were referred to the standing committees concerned during the lacklustre proceedings sans any prominent leaders. |
| Posted by:Fred |