ISLAMABAD: The PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government came under criticism in the Senate on Monday as senators called for the federal government’s intervention to protect minority communities in the province.

During a debate on an adjournment motion on recent “killing of two persons belonging to Sikh community” in KP, the senators expressed concern over the reported migration of minority people from the province because of the rise in incidents of their targeted killing.

Also read: Footprints: Fear stalks the frontier sikhs

The Senate also passed four resolutions, one of them calling for extending the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Peshawar High Court to tribal areas and another seeking formation of a house committee to review the privatisation process since 1973.

The senators criticised Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for focusing its energies on the sit-in in Islamabad.

“Targeted killing of minorities is going on in KP, but members of the (provincial) government are busy in dancing and singing in Islamabad,” said Abdul Nabi Bangash of the Awami National Party (ANP).

Heman Das, a minority Senator of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F), said since there was practically no government in KP, the federal government should intervene and take steps to protect minorities.

Also read: Gunmen shoot at Sikh men in Peshawar market, one dead

But, he said, he was not asking for any direct action and only reminding the federal government of its basic responsibility of protecting people.

Tahir Mashhadi of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement said if the government could not fulfil its responsibility of protecting the minorities, it should resign.

He alleged that officials of intelligence and law-enforcement agencies were aware of hideouts of members of banned organisations in south Punjab, Karachi, Peshawar and Islamabad, but they were doing nothing.

The ANP’s Zahid Khan claimed that 580 families of minority communities had migrated from KP. Some of them have gone abroad and others have shifted to Punjab and Sindh.

He alleged that two KP ministers paid extortion to terrorists and wondered how a government could protect people when its ministers were paying extortion.

Another ANP Senator, Haji Adeel, said minorities were living in fear and even performing their religious rites secretly.

The Minister of State for Interior, Baleeghur Rehman, said the federal government had written letters to the KP authorities to take steps to protect the minorities and ensure arrest of culprits involved in the incidents of targeted killing. But no arrest has been made so far in the recent killing of two members of Sikh community.

RESOLUTIONS: The Senate unanimously passed a resolution moved by PPP’s Farhatullah Babar and calling upon the government to extend the jurisdiction of the apex and high courts to tribal areas “to protect and promote fundamental rights and integrate tribal people in national mainstream”.

The resolution also recommends amendment to the Constitution to enable parliament to enact laws for tribal areas.

Through adopting a resolution moved by PPP’s Raza Rabbani and signed by 33 members, the house approved constitution of a committee in seven days “to examine the impact of privatisation policy from 1973 to 2013”.

The Senate also passed another resolution condemning the suicide attack on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and calling upon the government to provide security to him.

THINK TANK: The members unanimously approved establishment of the country’s first ever parliamentary think tank, to be called Senate Forum for Policy Research, by approving amendments to the Senate rules.

Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq moved the amendments on his behalf and on behalf of Raza Rabbani and Mushahid Hussain.

The main task of the 16-member forum will be to “study questions of public importance” and “recommend policy options and solutions”.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2014