October 30, 2007	Tuesday	Shawwal 17, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Oct 29: Opposition members on Monday submitted an adjournment motion to the Senate Secretariat seeking a discussion on the prevailing law and order situation in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) with particular reference to the ongoing operation in Swat and surrounding areas.

According to the secretary of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) for parliamentary affairs, Izhar Amrohvi, the adjournment motion carries the signatures of 10 senators belonging to People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) and Awami National Party (ANP).

The motion has been moved under Rule 74 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate 1988.

In their motion, the opposition senators have termed the law and order situation in the NWFP ‘alarming and painful’. The motion states that media has been reporting a large number of casualties in the troubled areas of the province during the past few days.

“As many as 30 personnel of Frontier Constabulary (FC) were killed and around 25 injured when a high intensity bomb exploded in a truck near Police Lines on October 25. A number of shops and a petrol pump were also damaged in Mingora (Swat). This tragic incident occurred on the second day of paramilitary forces deployment (in the area) to bring the law and order situation under control and ensure the writ of the government,” says the motion.— Staff Reporter