MPs demand APC on frequent drone attacks

ISLAMABAD - Coalition as well as opposition parties in the National Assembly on Tuesday expressed concerns over the increasing drone attacks in the country and demanded of the Government to immediately convene an all parties conference to form a new strategy on the war on terror. Chief of PPP-Sherpao, Aftab Ahmad Sherpao pointed out the increasing drone attacks and said that five drone attacks had been carried out in the last two days. Its a time to judge either these drone attacks reduced the extremism in the country or give a boost to this. The US has now started carrying out drone attacks in Khyber Agency. The Government should convene an all parties conference to prepare a new plan against these attacks, Aftab Sherpao demanded. He recommended that the chiefs of all security agencies should also be called at the APC to brief the participants on the latest situation. He further said that the matter should also be brought in the Parliament and the House should again debate it. He alleged that the Government was silently viewing the whole situation and the resolution of this House against the drone attacks had been neglected. He said that the authorities never bothered to even inform that who was being targeted in the drone attacks and how much innocent people lost their lives in these attacks. Senior leader of MQM Wasim Akhtar also backed the chief of PPP-Sherpao and said that the issues like kidnapping for ransom, corruption and law and order situation in the entire country should also be on the agenda of APC. He condemned the growing incident of kidnapping for ransom in Sindh. Earlier, PML-N staged a walkout from the House as Dr Darshan, an MNA from Sindh, pointed out that the community in Sindh was no more secure and the their kidnapping have broadly increased. Fozia Wahab of PPP was of the view that the drone attacks and suicide attacks were closely interlinked and the Government would have to take it more seriously. Hanif Abbasi, however, said that when Nato helicopters challenged the sovereignty of the country, the rulers suspended its supply but they did nothing when US carried out drone attacks inside Pakistani territory. He was if the view that such attitude proved that the Government had an understanding with the US on drone attacks. Maulana Ataur Rehman of JUI, however, said that the Prime Minister had been reiterating that the House was sovereign and supreme but on the other hand the resolutions of the same House had been placed aside that was an insult of this sovereign Parliament. Sheikh Aftab of PML-N went on saying that the international interference in Pakistan had increased and today the safest borders were being considered as the most dangerous. He said that the Government only issued statements against the drone attacks but did nothing practically. Central leader of PML-Q Riaz Hussain Pirzada, however, commented on the in-house change as demanded by JUI-F in a recent press conference held in Islamabad. Pirzada said that the criticism should be on the parties not on the individuals. He added that Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani was an elected prime minister and his removal might cause damage to whole democracy. He further questioned the raid on the office of Monis Elahi in Lahore and said that the political parties should give up the old tradition of the political victimisation. He further asked the Government to publish a list of those 394 houses hired by US citizens and said that the report should contain detailed information about these foreigners. Meanwhile, Justice (Retd) Fakhar-Un-Nisa Khokar and Riaz Hussain Fatyana separately moved two bills in the House. Khurshid Shah said that the Government itself should introduce a bill in this regard, however, the other bill that was The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was deferred till next Tuesday as Atya Anayatullah, Bushra Gohar and other members requested to defer it for further improvement with more suggestions by other women Parliamentarians. MNA Nadeem Afzal Chan of PPP on the point of order said that there was no democracy within the political parties and just five percent people were ruling on the country. He said that the parties should stop the way of people like Rehaman Malik and Shokat Aziz who had no roots in the general public.

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