ISLAMABAD: Members of the Senate on Monday demanded of the government to order a judicial probe into the Muharram 10 bomb blast in Karachi followed by violent incidents and recent target killings in the countrys largest city.
The adjournment motion to discuss the Karachi situation was moved by Senator Prof Khurshid Ahmad of the Jamaat-e-Islami, who said incidents are the result of not launching an inquiry into the incident of May 12, 2007 when the innocent people were killed in Karachi.
The JI senator said the possibility of involvement of foreign hand in the Karachi unrest could not be ruled out but the interior minister has been giving confusing statements.He said the demand of a political party to call the Army and Rangers to control unrest in the city would have very dangerous consequences. He said security forces, local administration and fire-fighting vehicles failed to respond effectively when banks and shops were being looted and put on fire causing losses to the tune of Rs 30 billion.
Senator Abdul Rahim Mandokhel said the people involved in the killing incidents in Karachi should be pinpointed. He said the political parties should withdraw their support to people belonging to drug mafia and land mafia. The political parties should show the door to such elements present in their fold, he said.
Federal Minister Dr Farooq Sattar of the MQM said the bomb blast in Muharram procession, violent incidents and target killings are aimed at destroying the peace of Karachi and destabilising it.
Holding Talibanisation responsible for Karachi incidents, he said the land mafia and drug mafia are also sponsoring extremism and terrorism in the city. The MQM leader expressed the hope that the elements involved in the Karachi violence and killings with particular reference to the Muharram 10 blast would be exposed with the use of the latest CCTV technology.
He said there should be no point scoring and solution to the Karachi problem should be evolved while remaining above all political and other affiliations. Karachi belongs to all who are living here, he declared.
Farooq Sattar said the MQM would have no objection if a judicial inquiry is ordered into the Muharram 10 tragedy which was followed by violent incidents, including looting and burning of banks and shops.
Senators Dr Abdul Malik, Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Zahid Khan, Ismail Buledi, Semeen Siddiqui and Kalsoom Perveen also took part in the debate. They expressed concern over the tragic incidents in the economic hub of the country and demanded a strict action against the culprits.
They urged the government to take measures to eliminate no-go areas in the city and launch a massive operation against the criminals. They said security arrangements should be improved in the city and no one should be spared. They also demanded of the government to arrange an immediate relief for the victims and the affected traders.
The House while expressing great concern over enhanced screening procedures for Pakistani citizens in the US, including full-body pat-downs and extra hand luggage searches for the Pakistanis only because of their origin, called for similar treatment with the US nationals, and adopted a motion to discuss the issue.
The members said such a treatment was tantamount to insulting the whole nation and the country. PPP Senator Raza Rabbani and Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Muhammad Jamali jointly moved a motion in the House that the Foreign Office should take notice of the issue.
Raza Rabbani said it has become a common practice that the foreign dignitaries interfere in internal matters of Pakistan by giving statements and offering services regarding different issues.
He said Richard Holbrookes (Special US Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan) offer for internal stability in Pakistan and British Foreign Secretary David Milibands statement regarding the Karachi situation were a clear evidence of the foreign interference in the countrys internal matters.
He said: They have no right to interfere in our internal affairs. Did we ever talk about discriminatory treatment with Muslims living in Britain. Senator Abdul Malik said the US nationals should be given similar treatment at Pakistani airports as they were doing with Pakistanis, adding that the Pakistan government should adopt similar rules as they have made for the Pakistanis.
I wish to see US nationals stopped and searched at Pakistani airports by our police personnel, said Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Muhammad Jamali. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Malik Ammad Khan said: We are all concerned about the issue which has not only been taken up by the Foreign Office but also by the prime minister as well.
