ISLAMABAD, Oct 20: Opposition members in the National Assembly and Senate have submitted a number of adjournment motions seeking debates on the failure of the government and other institutions in carrying out rescue and relief operations in the affected areas after the October 8 earthquake.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Izhar Amrohvi told Dawn on Thursday that the MNAs belonging to the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) had submitted two adjournment motions to the National Assembly Secretariat under Rule 92 of the Rules and Procedures for Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 1992.

Five PPP members through an adjournment motion have drawn the attention of the house towards the reported negligence of the government officials supervising the rescue operation at the Margalla Towers.

Through the motion, the PPP members stated that “the rescue operation in Islamabad after the collapse of Margalla Towers as reported in the press was shameful” due to the “botched” techniques adopted by those supervising the whole operation.

“The rubble containing bodies and limbs were excavated carelessly with heavy bulldozers. The negligence of the quarters concerned in this regard is a crime that should be investigated forthwith,” says the motion.

Mr Amrohvi said the opposition members believed that the lives of many people could have been saved by the volunteers had they been allowed to work independently. He said the opposition members wanted to hold a thorough debate on the issue, as there had been great concern among the general public over the failure of the crisis management policy of the government.

He said the collapse of Margalla Towers had also exposed the inefficiency and corruption in the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

Mr Amrohvi said the motion had been signed by Sherry Rehman, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Syed Khurshid Shah and Syed Naveed Qamar.

The same members, he said, had also submitted another motion which stated: “The absence of seismic code despite Pakistan being on one of the most dangerous earthquake faultlines in the world has caused an incalculable damage to the people in the October 8 disaster causing grave concern among the general public.”

Meanwhile, Mr Amrohvi said that 11 opposition senators had submitted an adjournment motion to the Senate Secretariat to have a discussion on the statement of Federal Minister for Education Javed Ashraf Qazi that crisis management and disaster relief was not the responsibility of army but of the civil administration.

Responding to the opposition’s criticism of the “delayed response of army” to the disaster in the National Assembly on October 15, Mr Qazi had said that “nowhere in the world crisis management and disaster relief are the responsibilities of army and these functions are carried out by the civil administration.”