December 16, 2002	Monday	Shawwal 11, 1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

KARACHI, Dec 15: The Pakistan People’s Party on Sunday demanded an explanation from the Speakers of the Sindh Assembly regarding the arrest of an MPA inside the assembly building.

This was stated by the PPP acting secretary-general Raza Rabbani at a news conference held at Bilawal House. Nisar Khuhro was also there.

Rabbani said that the PPP would ask the ARD and other political parties to seek requisitioning of the National Assembly session to debate the incident.

The PPP also demanded that the Mohajir Qaumi Movement’s MPA Mohammad Younus Khan, arrested on Saturday, be allowed to attend the assembly session on Monday (today).

Rabbani claimed that the brutal police attack, on the MPAs of the PPP, MMA and the solitary Haqiqi member, was to deny the majority party its right to form government in Sindh.

He said that they were justified in asking the Speaker with whose permission were the MPAs made hostage for several hours within the assembly premises, where the writ of the custodian of the House reins supreme.

“Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah must tell us whether he had given permission to the police to enter. If he had, as he had stated on a query from Nisar Khuhro, then how come the police defied his writ within the assembly premises,” said Rabbani.

Rule 68 of the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh states: “When a member is arrested or is sentenced to imprisonment by a court, or detained under any executive order, the court or executive authority, as the case may be, shall immediately intimate such a fact to the Speaker, indicating the reason for his arrest, imprisonment or detention in the form set out in the Fifth schedule.

“Rule 69 pertains to intimation to Speaker on the release of a member. According to Rule 70, on the receipt of the intimation under Rules 68 and 69, as soon it as may be, the Speaker shall read it out in the Assembly, if it is in session, and in any other case, circulate it amongst the members.”

He said the Speaker did not adhere to the relevant rules.

He claimed that the entire activity only proves massive involvement of the federal government and their operatives, including prime minister, interior minister, information minister, Chaudhry Shujaat and others, in subverting the mandate of the people of Sindh for the third time.

He said that Faisal Saleh Hayat also descended on Sindh to subvert the mandate of the people of Sindh by succeeding in manipulating support of three MPAs.

He said that when the PPP MPAs were boarding the bus parked on the assembly premises, the police forced their way in and began searching the bus. They also brought a mobile van and parked it in from front of it.

After about 45 minutes the police mobile was moved to make way for the Speaker’s car.

He demanded that the officials involved in the exercise against the MPAs be punished.

The PPP candidate for the top slot in Sindh, Nisar Khuhro, condemned the incident in which some women MPAs got were struck with rifle butts when they were disembarking a bus.

He said that the Speaker had told him on the floor of the House that the administration had not obtained any permission from him to enter the premises nor had they informed him of their intention to arrest any MPA.

He deplored the administration’s version that the MPA’s arrest happened outside the assembly premises, which was absolutely wrong. It happened on the premises and in the presence of the PPP, other MPAs and the media.

He said that the police’s attitude was regrettable. When the Younus Khan was about to leave after taking oath the police caught hold of him and ruthlessly dragged him by the hair.

He also deplored that no action had been taken against the concerned TPO. He made it clear that if the TPO followed the rules and showed respect for the MPA, he might forgive him.

When asked to comment on Muttahida’s nominee for the governor’s post, against whom cases were pending, Khuhro said that he was not aware whether Gen Musharraf or prime minister Jamali had approved of the him.

With regards to Monday’s session, he said that so far he had not received the agenda.