Islamabad: The senate on Monday discussed the law and order situation in the country on a resolution moved by the opposition. It was private members day there by meaning that the government did not table its agenda. Issues raised by the opposition and members belonging to Treasury benches were placed on the order of the day. The opposition wanted to discuss law and order situation through its resolution that urged the government to take steps to improve law and order situation in the country. The government was in no mood to allow the resolution to be passed with those wordings. Passing the resolution as put by the opposition meant that the government was not taking any step to improve law and orders situation and it was oblivious to what was happening the country. The government wanted to insert the word further in the resolution before the words steps to improve law and order for face saving. The opposition however, was not willing to add the word as it is in a position to take and stand in the Senate as it enjoys majority in the Upper House.

It would be interesting to see the outcome of the resolution as the numbers game in the Senate is quite tight. The opposition is apparently, in majority. This contention takes strength from the fact that the government in the last one year has not opted to go for voting in the Upper House. 

It has not tabled any bill in the House or made an effort to pass a resolution during the past year. The government fears losing to the opposition if a bill or a resolution is put to voting.

Therefore, the government did not insist on inserting the word further and opted to go for the discussion first. The discussion can be extended as it will come only on private members day.

Syed Iqbal Haider the PPP leader and former law minister took part in the debate. Haider comes from karachi and his biggest desire is to see that peace returned to the strife torn city of Karachi. He is and was a strong believer that MQM was responsible for the acts of terrorism in Karachi. And when it comes to Karachi he becomes extremely emotional. But Monday's debate was not confined to Karachi only. He had to discuss the law and order situation in the country and he believed that the Sharif government had miserably failed to discharging its duties in this respect.

He focused his debate on the spate of sectarian killings in the country particularly in Punjab. He was utterly disappointed at the performances of the government in tacking the issue of sectarian killing. He came hard on the government for passing a resolution in the National Assembly condemning the assassination attempt on the life of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while not taking any steps over the killings of 16 faithful in a mosque in interior Punjab.

The law and order situation in the country went from bad to worse when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif escaped an attempt on his life in last month. Next day 16 people belonging to a sect were gunned down in interior Punjab by members of the rival sect. The National Assembly passed a resolution condemning the assassination attempt on Sharif. The next day opposition tabled a resolution seeking to condemn the killing of 16 people in sectarian violence. However the government was reluctant to pass the resolution on sectarian killing.

Iqbal Haider focused his speech on the point making it an issue for condemning the government for discrimination. He also accused the government of Talibanising the country which he said was a system of terror and injustice.

Haider had just finished his speech when Aitzaz Ahsan leader of the opposition in the Senate, raised the issue of Jang Group. He said the government had raided the offices of the newspaper group and confiscated the newsprint. He blamed Saif ur Rehman. the chairman of ehtesab Bureau of victimising the management of the newspaper. Interior Minister Chaudhry Shujat Hussain admitted that the newsprint of the newspaper was taken away by Punjab Police while maintaining that according to Ehtesab Act, the chairman of ehtesab Bureau could use any agency of the country in any province for help in its accountability process.

Meanwhile the reporters covering the parliamentary proceeding were informed that their fellow journalists had been beaten up by police in Rawalpindi. The journalists had gone to the office of FIA to ask for releasing the newsprint . In the meantime they had a scuffle with police and scores of journalists were roughed up by the police . The reporters in the Parliament protested. They boycotted the proceeding of the Upper House and locked the doors of the Press Gallery which was probably for the first time in the history of Parliament that the door of the Press Gallery had been locked.

The reporters protested in front of the gates of the Parliament where they were joined by the Opposition. However, no representative of the government came to console the reporters. Nobody, among the government, seems prepared to defend the acts of Saif ur Reham.

(4-2-1999)