Members of the Senate on Monday lashed out at state authorities over their alleged failure to protect candidates and the public ahead of the July 25 elections, while taking aim at policies they said have "allowed" extremist ideologies to permeate society.

Ex-chairman Senate and incumbent PPP Senator Raza Rabbani said the duty to protect citizens was the state's while pointing out that the caretaker set-up was the existing state..

Rabbani also complained that while orders to arrest political workers were "being implemented swiftly", there was silence on the Mastung incident.

Referring to the participation of alleged members of banned outfits in the forthcoming elections, Rabbani said a new phenomenon was emerging modeled on the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal.

"The interior minister should reveal how [members of] banned organisations were allowed to contest the elections. How were the names of [members of] banned outfits removed from the Fourth Schedule? What will the atmosphere of the parliament look like if even 25 of such people are elected?" —PPP Senator Raza Rabbani

Referring to the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, Rabbani observed that 150 members of the "party that staged the sit-in at Faizabad" are candidates for National Assembly seats.

PML-N senators, too, raised similar concerns.

More details here.