KARACHI: Opposition terms arrest of Hashmi HR violation
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 2: Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Sindh have condemned the arrest of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi. They said the joint opposition considered his arrest a means to pressurize it over the ongoing campaign against a president in uniform and LFO.
Demanding of the speaker of National Assembly to issue an order for Mr Hashmi’s production, leaders of the two main opposition alliances pointed out that his arrest was against the rules and traditions of the parliament under which its members cannot be arrested when it is in session.
Parliamentary Party Leader of PPP in the Senate, Raza Rabbani, MMA Sindh’s Chief, MNA Asadullah Bhutto, PML-N Vice-President, Mian Ejaz Shafi, and Chief of PML-Qayyum, Amanullah Khan, stated this at an Iftar party arranged by PML-N Sindh’s President Zain Ansari at his residence in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Sunday.
On the occasion Mr Rabbani said the ARD had decided that on completion of seven years of Asif Ali Zardari’s detention on Nov 4 a protest march, from the parliament building to the Supreme Court, would be arranged.
In the meantime, responding to a question, Mr Rabbani said the opposition had demanded of the speaker of National Assembly to issue a production order in the case of Mr Hashmi, even though he was helpless in the matter, so that the world could judge for itself that he was a custodian of PML-Q, not the parliament.
Answering another question, he said the opposition parties would continue to increase pressure on the government until the 1973 Constitution was revived and supremacy of the parliament was restored. He criticized the government for failing to inform beforehand its “own speaker” of Mr Hashmi’s arrest, as per the rules. He was informed the next day.
Mr Rabbani said six days into his arrest, Mr Hashmi’s family had not been allowed to meet him. This was the worst kind of violation of fundamental and human rights, he claimed.
Under the law any person arrested had to be produced for remand within 24 hours and allowed to meet his lawyers, but in the case of Mr Hashmi, he was not brought to the court at all. Instead, the court was taken to the prison to get his remand, in violation of the rules and the Constitution.
Mr Rabbani said Prime Minister Jamali’s statement, in which the members of the parliament had been advised to remain within the prescribed limits, was a crude joke. He remarked: “What a travesty it is that a prime minister who considers LFO a part of the Constitution is asking the opposition not to cross the constitutional limits”.
Senator Rabbani said it was the opposition which had been striving, both inside the parliament and outside it, for the Constitution’s supremacy and protesting against the LFO. This campaign would continue until the LFO was repealed, he said.
The senator stated that the provincial chapters of the opposition parties had been asked to chalk out programmes to make their campaign more effective. Mr Rabbani also flayed the increase in the prices of petroleum products.
MMA Sindh’s Chief Asadullah Bhutto said the letter which was made the basis for Mr Hashmi’s arrest had already been disowned by the army. Therefore, his arrest was totally uncalled for.
He recalled that when Gen Musharraf had taken over the control of the government he had promised to give the country good governance. But the arrest of Mr Hashmi was nothing but a manifestation of “bad governance”.
Mr Bhutto demanded that Mr Hashmi’s family members be allowed to meet him and the cases registered against him be made public. “All those who used to say ‘Pakistan na Khappe’ are sitting in the lap of the government today and no case of treason has been instituted.”
He lamented that the government which had issued anti-extortion ordinance had failed to take action against extortionists and demanded that the country be rid of extortionists.
Amanullah Khan termed Mr Hashmi’s arrest an inhuman act as the opposition leader was being kept at an undisclosed location. It was reported, he said, that non-bailable warrants were being issued against all those leaders who were arrested during the ARD’s campaign in 2001 but were later released.
Mian Ejaz Shafi said under the police order 2002, registration of FIRs and investigations were done by two separate agencies. He asked: “If a case had been registered against Mr Hashmi, how could he be arrested before investigations into the allegations framed against him?
“If people may be arrested simply with the registration of FIRs, all those ministers, advisers and governors must be arrested against whom FIRs have been lodged.” He said the opposition parties did not want to take steps which could harm the country.
Abid Jafri of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement said Asif Shaheryar, whose bail had been granted for a fifth time and who was going to see his mother on the deathbed, was “illegally” arrested soon after his release. He was not even allowed to attend his mother’s funeral.
