August 26, 2006	Saturday	Sha'aban 1, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 25: National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain on Friday banned the entry of armed security guards and gunmen of ministers and MNAs to the Parliament House precincts.

Referring to an earlier decision to this effect taken by the House and Library Committee of the National Assembly, the speaker said the decision of the committee should be implemented in letter and spirit.

The issue was raised by ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) MNA from Bahawalpur Riaz Hussain Pirzada while speaking on a point of order and it was supported by Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niazi and other members.

Mr Pirzada said nowhere in the world arms could be seen within the limits of the Parliament House. He said the chief ministers of the provinces always visited the capital with commandos and gunmen. Similarly, he said, some government ministers also came to the Parliament House with their personal guards.

“It seems that terrorists are roaming (in the Parliament House),” he said, amid desk thumping of several opposition and treasury members.

Mr Pirzada said the behaviour of these guards and gunmen was also indecent and they even did not give way to MNAs to enter the Parliament House building.

He suggested that these gunmen and guards should be stopped outside the assembly premises. He said the whole capital should be considered a safe heaven and there should be no arms display, but at least the Parliament House should be free from arms.

He said there were several important buildings in the surrounding, like Aiwan-i-Sadr, Prime Minister House and the Supreme Court and these were not the visiting places for dacoits.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan supported Mr Pirzada’s viewpoint and asked the speaker to order the arrest of those people carrying weapons within the Parliament House limits.

He reminded that former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own bodyguards. He said why the elected representatives of the people lived in a state of fear and that too in the Parliament House.

He asked the speaker to issue an order to stop these guards outside the main gate of the Parliament House building to give a message to the world that they were peaceful citizens.

Earlier, speaking on a point of order, Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) said it had been reported in the local press quoting the western media that Al- Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was hiding in Chitral.

He refuted the reports and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should also issue a statement that there were no foreign nationals in Chitral. He said the people of Chitral were against all types of terrorism and would also not tolerate the US interference in their area.