ISLAMABAD, June 26: Chairman ARD and Vice Chairman Pakistan People's Party Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Parliamentary Leader of Democratic Alliance in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani have condemned the murder of the PML-N leader Bin Yamin Rizvi
in Lahore on Saturday and demanded immediate arrest of the killers.
In a joint statement, the two leaders said the murder of Bin Yamin was targeted killing aimed at eliminating leaders of democratic opposition. "There is a pattern in recent incidents of political murders. The real perpetrators of the crime must be exposed if the steep downslide towards a civil war is to be arrested."
Bin Yamin was the vice president of PML-N, Punjab. A few days back the PPP information secretary, Sindh, Munawwar Suharwardy, was murdered in Karachi by unknown assailants who are still at large. Both Munawwar and Bin Yamin were murdered in broad daylight on busy roads and both were responsible for the media projection of the policies of their parties. None had any personal enmity.
"This is targeted killing aimed at sending a signal to the democratic oppositions," they said and vowed that democratic opposition would not be deterred by such cowardly acts.
"Militants and militancy abound in dictatorships, not in democracies," they said and demanded immediate return to democracy and people.s rule.
Makhdoom Amin and Raza Rabbani said that terrorism had become a serious problem in Pakistan because of its past record of military dictatorship. "Terrorism and extremism go hand in hand with dictatorship". Unless democracy returns to Pakistan, the fear of terrorism mounting and turning into a civil war could become a reality, they said.
Staff reporter adds: The leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-N have condemned the murder of the party's Punjab vice- president Pir Binyamin Rizvi and termed it a result of the "incompetency" of the unrepresentative government.
In a message from Jeddah, PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif and president Shahbaz Sharif expressed shock and grief over the incident, and said not only the PML-N, but all the patriotic forces struggling for restoration of the Constitution and democracy had lost a dedicated leader.
The two leaders said it was a political murder, and the 'present incompetent and unrepresentative government, whose self- centred policies had left the life and property of every citizen unsafe,' was responsible for it.
They said the incident had once again proved that all law- enforcement agencies were in a limbo these days, because 90 per cent of their resources and manpower had been diverted either to protect the rulers, who feared people's wrath, or to the surveillance of political opponents.
They said such a government had no right to remain in power, and Gen Musharraf and his puppet government should resign forthwith. The PML-N leaders said Pir Binyamin had been martyred fighting.
The PML-N chairman, Raja Zafarul Haq, and acting parliamentary leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also expressed anguish and anger over the incident. Terming it the worst instance of political vengeance, they said the responsibility of the government for this act could not be ruled out.
PTI: Chairman of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has condemned the killing of PML-N leader Pir Binyamin Rizvi in Lahore.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, Imran Khan said increasing acts of terror in Quetta, Gwadar, Karachi and now in Lahore indicated a systematic breakdown of governance.
The collapse in governance is because of the fake political system established by Gen Musharraf, which is only designed to perpetuate his rule, he said.
