ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: The opposition sent a notice to Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro on Saturday to call an upper house session to discuss three issues, including what it called a "total breakdown" of law and order in the country and affairs of the Pakistan International Airlines, an opposition spokesman said.
Reported bifurcation of the Civil Aviation Authority will be the third item on the agenda, which the chairman must call by Feb 16 to meet a requirement of the house rules of procedure and conduct of business allowing a maximum 14 days to summon a session after receiving the requisition.
The notice deposited with the Senate secretariat was signed by 29 senators of the combined opposition, four more than the required 25 or one-fourth of the 100-seat house, according to Izhar Amrohvi, parliamentary secretary of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy.
The opposition had promised to requisition a session mainly to discuss PIA affairs immediately after a regular session was prorogued on Jan 26 amid its boycott after a similar debate to protest against a press briefing paper issued by the airline to deny charges levelled against its management before the start of the discussion.
But the law and order situation has taken precedence over the PIA affairs in light of a series of suicide bombings in the country. The attacks included a Jan 27 bombing in Peshawar that killed about 15 people, including a police chief of the city, and one a day earlier outside a five-star hotel in Islamabad that killed the bomber and a security guard hours before an Indian national day reception was held at the hotel.
The top item in the opposition notice for the debate described the situation as "the total breakdown of law and order, with particular reference to the spate of suicide bombings or attempted suicide bombings during the last two weeks".
The opposition was likely to raise the issue also in the National Assembly session beginning on Tuesday, sources said.
