KARACHI, Oct 30: Arrest of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, President of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, has been condemned widely by the enraged political circles who described the move as “a naked use of state power to suppress the voice of dissent for perpetuating dictatorial rule of Gen Pervez Musharraf.”
Speaking at a news conference at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday, Sindh chief of the ARD Zain Ansari condemned the arrest of Mr Hashmi. who is also the acting president of the PML-N, and said the move was a failure of the government and a great setback to democracy.
He also demanded that a national commission be constituted to investigate, what he called, ‘the Kargil debacle’ and to fix its responsibility. “The regime has gone bonkers by arresting the ARD president on totally absurd charges,” he remarked.
Mr Ansari, who was flanked by Rashid Rabbani of the PPP, Khan Amanullah Khan, Salim Zia, Sardar Rahim, and a host of PML-N leaders, claimed that such moves would further vitiate the already acrimonious political climate and create instability in the country.
He alleged that the regime had endangered the very fabric of national harmony by such ‘draconian acts’ and criticized the military rulers for punishing those who were, as he put it, ‘exposing their bluff’.
According to the text circulated during the press conference, the Sindh ARD terms the arrest illegal and unconstitutional.
It was contended that according to the Article 80 of the Constitution, no elected member of the National Assembly could be arrested during the session, without prior permission of the Speaker. Therefore, it claimed, by arresting Mr Hashmi the regime had once again violated the Constitution.
Mr Ansari said that the letter, which was read out by Mr Hashmi, was first sent to Ms Fauzia Habib, the PPP Parliamentarians MNA, on her Parliament Lodge address. She had read out that letter in the ARD parliamentary party meeting following which it was decided that Mr Hashmi, as ARD parliamentary leader, should present it before the press at a news conference.
It was regretted that the people and forces who were struggling for safeguarding rights of the people and for upholding the 1973 Constitution and democratic values were being charged with mutiny and treason, whereas those who had violated Article 6 of the Constitution and had usurped power, were calling the shots.
The Sindh ARD vowed to continue the struggle and bringing to book those who had violated the Constitution and usurped peoples’ rights. It demanded of the NA Speaker to ensure presence of Mr Hashmi in the Friday session of the House.
While the ARD leaders were addressing the news conference, PML-N youth wing activists staged a protest outside the KPC and demanded immediate release of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi.
PPP: The Karachi Coordination Committee (KCC) of the Pakistan People’s Party on Thursday has strongly condemned the arrest of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi.
The KCC meeting, held at Bilawal House, was presided over by Syed Qaim Ali Shah and attended by Nawab Yousuf Talpur, Prof N. D. Khan and Taj Haider.
It condemned in strongest terms the arrest of the ARD president and said: “It is a pity that those who term usurpation of power through violation of Constitution an act of high treason are themselves being booked for treason under the laws promulgated by the colonial masters almost a century ago.”
It was of the view that arresting important leaders of public for voicing their opinion would dangerously widen the alarming gulf existing between the people of the country and the leadership of the armed forces.
The committee took strong exception to the remark made by the information minister that Makhdoom Javed Hashmi had been following a “farmaishi programme”. It said that besides being highly impolite the remark had grave implications.
The KCC felt that the regime had set the ball rolling. The democratic forces had always opted for putting their point across in a peaceful and logical manner. They had avoided conflict and had hoped that better sense would prevail; they had hoped that those who derailed democracy in Pakistan would refrain from damaging the Constitution and make an early return to the constitutional process.
“The arrest of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi has clearly spelled out what is to be expected,” the committee said adding that if the Establishment had opted to play on the pitch of those who had been struggling for democracy for so long and made it a point to give sacrifices, then it was most welcome to try those coercive methods out.
The PPP committee said the only way out of the problems was to undo the wrongs against the nation. “It is unfortunate that dictators on their way out have always thought that their stay could be prolonged by coercive methods. History says otherwise,” it said.
JAMAAT-I-ISLAMI: Naib Ameer of the Jamaat-i-Islami Senator Prof Ghafoor Ahmed said that what Makhdoom Javed Hashmi had spoken was nothing new against the military regime and that his arrest would heighten tension and acrimony in politics.
He said the protest by PML-N was justified and demanded that the regime should desist from its policy of confrontation on all fronts and release Mr Hashmi immediately.
Prof Ghafoor said the opposition had acted in a responsible manner, keeping in view the security environment of the country. However, he regretted, the parliament had been made ineffective because the ruling party was not prepared to listen to anything from the opposition benches which occupied no less than 40 per cent of the seats in the House.
He pointed out that the government had so far failed to produce any document pertaining to any agreement with Nawaz Sharif to prove that he had agreed to go into exile as per the conditions claimed by the government. “On the contrary, Gen Pervez Musharraf, despite knowing that keeping the slots of the COAS and president simultaneously in his person was a violation of the Constitution, was adamant.
Dr Mumtaz Memon, the JI’s provincial chief, also deplored the arrest of Mr Hashmi and called it an insult to the people.
KARACHI, Oct 30: Arrest of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, President of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, has been condemned widely by the enraged political circles who described the move as “a naked use of state power to suppress the voice of dissent for perpetuating dictatorial rule of Gen Pervez Musharraf.”
