PESHAWAR: Ministers, MPAs protest against Bajaur killings: Govt, US criticised
By Mohammed Riaz
PESHAWAR, Nov 3: Member of the NWFP Assembly on Friday staged a protest march from the assembly hall to Khyber Road against the bombing of a seminary in Bajaur Agency and killing of 82 students.
Provincial Ministers Malik Zafar Azam, Maulana Fazl Ali, Asif Iqbal Daudzai, Hafiz Akhtar Ali, Shah Raz Khan and Fazal Rabbani and Abdul Akbar Khan of the People’s Party Parliamentarians led the procession.
The participants accused the military rulers of following the United States agenda. They chanted slogans against the federal government, President Pervez Musharraf and the attack and in favour of an Islamic revolution.
Maulana Mohammad Idrees from Charsadda offered Fateha for the victims.
Police suspended traffic and facilitated the lawmakers to stage the protest outside the assembly entrance.
As the assembly’s proceedings begun, Mian Nadir Shah from Takhtbai drew the attention of the chair towards the protest programmes being organised against the killings across the province and asked the house to postpone the day’s agenda and express solidarity with the people of Bajaur. Tajul Amin, Syed Amanat Ali Shah, Mian Nisar Gul, Mualana Mohammad Idrees, Javed Mohmand and Fareed Khan of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal endorsed the proposal and expressed solidarity with the people of Bajaur. The Awami National Party’s Bashir Ahmed Bilour and Khalil Abbas also endorsed the move.
Khalil Abbas said US President George B. Bush had patted Gen Musharraf for carrying out ‘a good job’ by crushing the children of a religious school.
Mr Abbas asked his fellow opposition lawmakers to boycott the proceedings in protest.
Abdul Akbar Khan of the PPP and Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani of the Pakistan Muslim League opposed the postponement of the assembly business and argued that they were ready to discuss the issue once again in the house. They said they had supported postponement of Tuesday’s agenda and spoken against the bombing three days ago.
They said it was unfair to sacrifice the problems of people placed on the agenda for political gains out of a gory incident.
The PPP MPA asked the MMA lawmakers not to confine their protest to the postponement of the proceedings but to take out a protest procession and exhibit their courage. He proposed that the speaker should lead the procession, saying that otherwise the business of the day should be completed.
Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Malik Zafar Azam asked the chair to postpone the agenda, saying that it would send a message across the country that the house was fully behind the people protesting against the killings. He said the MMA was with the people and being their representative, part of the protest.
The speaker postponed the proceedings of the house till Monday, saying that majority of the MPAs wanted it.
Earlier, speaking on a point of order, Mushtaq Ghani drew the attention of the house towards the conditions in the Abbottabad Central Prison. He said the prison was spread over 50 acres but it was encircled with congested residential areas.
He proposed that the prison should be moved out of the residential locality to a nearby rural area and a girls’ college should be established at the existing site. He asked the government not to spend the Rs80 million allocated for renovation of the prison.
The law and parliamentary affairs minister said the issue could be resolved after a meeting with the officials concerned.
