SUKKUR: Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani has said there will be no crisis in the country because of the formation of the judicial commission but the onus is now on Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to come back to the assemblies to represent its voters.

Talking to journalists at Begum Nusrat Bhutto airport here on Monday before leaving for Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, Mr Rabbani said that since state institutions had been strengthened the judicial commission would not cause any crisis.

He said the Pakistan Peoples Party had handed over reigns of power to the victorious party after elections in a democratic manner and hoped that rule would now be transferred democratically to others in the same spirit.

Know more: Govt agrees on judicial commission to probe election rigging

He said the country’s very survival hinged on the democratic system. The Senate was a symbol of the federation and represented all provinces where he would work for the protection of constitutional institutions and supremacy of the Constitution, he said.

Whatever action the Pakistan Army was taking against terrorists under the National Action Plan had complete support of all democratic forces and national institutions, he said.

If any motion was moved in the Senate against terrorism it would be taken up. The federation would be strengthened if the country’s democratic and national institutions were strengthened.

Later, Mr Rabbani left for Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.

Throughout his 10 to 15 minute talk with journalists, Mr Rabbani was forced to stand on the roadside outside the airport in the scorching heat as the airport authorities did not allow assembly of people inside the building and the Press Information Department had not made alternative arrangements for the chairman of the Senate to talk to the press.

PA opposition leader backs Governor’s Rule

Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Shaharyar Khan Mahar has said if Governor’s Rule is imposed in Sindh he and his party will support it.

Death row convict Saulat Mirza’s startling revelations about the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had a ring of truth about them because “a man cannot tell a lie just hours before his certain death”, argued Mr Mahar while addressing a luncheon hosted in his honour by the city’s traders association here on Monday.

He said that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah liked to reiterate that police and other institutions worked under his control, but surprisingly he appeared reluctant to clarify his position with regard to the raid on the MQM headquarters known as Nine Zero.

He said the Rangers had conducted the raid under the government’s supervision and the chief minister was required to clear his government’s policy about it.

About Lyari gangster Uzair Baloch’s hitherto undisclosed allegations, Mr Mahar said that he had already spoken about them in the past. The Sindh government had been patronising criminals for long and now statements of Uzair Baloch against the Pakistan Peoples Party leadership were published in all newspapers, he said.

He rejected reports of any role of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf in a future setup and said that Musharraf would have to clear his name first and face all the cases in court before formally entering politics.

Mr Mahar rejected Sindh Assembly speaker Agha Siraj Durrani’s allegations that gambling was being done in the fair which was under way in Wazirabad and said if he was right he should use his clout to get the fair premises raided.

He said the fair featured cultural programmes which included horses and bulls races but if participants themselves put wagers on races what could be done about it.

He said the fair was organised after seeking permission from the deputy commissioner and the senior superintendent of police. Mr Durrani had done nothing but irreparable damage to local bodies institutions during the last seven years, he said.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2015

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