ISLAMABAD, Nov 24: A heated argument between a federal minister and an opposition senator raised the temperature in the upper house ahead of a debate on Bajaur and Dargai incidents on Friday.
The commotion occurred after Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao opposed a privilege motion moved by president of the Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Asfandyar Wali against the political administration of the Bajaur Agency for stopping him and his party workers from entering the tribal area on Nov 15.Enraged by the minister’s ‘no’ to the motion, Asfandyar Wali alleged that the government had violated its commitment and pointed out that before the start of the session, Leader of the House Wasim Sajjad and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan had assured him that the motion would not be opposed.
The situation became a little tense when Dr Sher Afgan said it had happened because of a miscommunication as the matter was not related to the interior ministry and that he had already sought the permission of Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Maj (retd) Tahir Iqbal.
The ANP senator replied that if the issue was not related to the interior minister then why had Mr Sherpao opposed it. "What was the need for you (Mr Sherpao) to meddle with others' affairs," Mr Khan said pointing towards the interior minister. This enraged the minister, who shouted at Mr Khan, asking him to mind his language. Later, the traditional political rivals from the NWFP exchanged some hot words.
Leader of Opposition Raza Rabbani criticised the interior minister’s attitude and said if the government could not honour its commitment then they would not press for admission of the motion as the opposition was not sitting in the house as charity.
Later, both Dr Sher Afgan and Wasim Sajjad admitted that it was due to their mistake that they could not communicate the decision to the interior minister, but both Mr Rabbani and Mr Khan said that they had decided to withdraw the privilege motion in protest against the minister's attitude.
Later, the house began the debate on Bajaur and Dargai incidents in which 124 people were killed, including 42 army recruits, during an air strike on a Madressah and a suicide attack on a military installation.
There were only a dozen government senators, including three to four ministers, in the house exposing the lack of interest on the part of treasury members in the debate on an important matter of national security.
Initiating the debate, Maulana Gul Naseeb of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal said that there were 40 children among 82 students and teachers who were killed in the air strike on the religious seminary in Bajaur on Oct 30. He said there were no foreigners present in the seminary and the newspapers had published the names of all those killed in the attack with their addresses which showed that 70 of them belonged to Bajaur Agency and others to Dir, Swabi and Gilgit area. He further said a majority of those killed in the suicide attack on a military installation in Dargai on November 8 also belonged to the NWFP.
The MMA senator said that he was convinced that the attack was carried out by US forces and not Pakistan Army as claimed by the government. He was of the view that foreign powers wanted to create a war-like situation in Pakistan's border areas. He alleged that the US had so far paid $3.6 billion as reward for carrying out operation in the tribal areas.
Taking part in the debate, ANP's Asfandyar Wali said the country was facing the present crisis situation due to wrong policies of the past rulers who turned Afghan refugees to Mujahideen. He also took exception to the statement of President Gen Pervez Musharraf that Taliban were more dangerous than Al-Qaeda. He said Taliban were the creation of the country's establishment and they had nothing to do with the Pakhtoon society.
The ANP senator questioned as to why Maulana Liaqaut, the deceased head of the Bajaur Madressah, was not arrested if he was training militants when he was holding talks with the officials of the political administration one day before the attack. He termed the Dargai suicide attack a reaction to the Bajaur incident. He stressed the need for adopting a true Afghan policy as only a peaceful Afghanistan could guarantee a peaceful Pakistan.
MMA senators Abdur Rashid and Liaquat Bangalzai also took part in the debate following which the chairman adjourned the proceedings till Monday evening.
