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| January 07, 2007 | Sunday | Zilhaj 16, 1427 |
Opposition seeks discussion on US report in Senate: Aid suspension to security forces
ISLAMABAD, Jan 6: Opposition members on Saturday submitted an adjournment motion to the Senate Secretariat seeking a discussion on the report of a think-tank recommending the US to suspend financial aid to Pakistan’s internal security forces due to their “failure to respect human rights.”
Talking to Dawn, parliamentary secretary of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Izhar Amrohvi said the motion had been filed by six opposition senators on the basis of a study report titled: Security Tyrants or Fostering Reform, issued by a California-based think-tank: RAND Corp for the Open Society Institute.
It has recommended the “US to significantly restructure or even withdraw its assistance to repressive regimes if their internal security assistance failed to improve transparency in human rights practice and overall effectiveness,” the opposition senators said in their motion.
The opposition senators have also filed an adjournment motion asking the Senate chairman to adjourn the normal proceedings of the house to discuss reports that the World Bank has appreciated reduction in staff members in Karachi Port Trust from 14,000 in late 1990s to 5,000 in 2004.
The opposition members believe that the issue is of great importance as it has caused grave concern amongst the general public due to increase in unemployment in the country.
The motions have been moved under Rule 74 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate 1988 and carry the signatures of Opposition Leader Raza Rabbani, Enver Baig, Rukhsana Zuberi, Dr Farooq Naik, Dr Babar Awan, Dr Safdar Abbasi, Sadia Abbasi and Prof Khurshid Ahmed.
Meanwhile, the opposition senators also submitted an adjournment motion seeking discussion on the incident in which police manhandled the family members of the missing persons when they were trying to hold a protest demonstration outside the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on December 28, last year. The opposition had already submitted a similar motion to the National Assembly Secretariat on December 30.
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