ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Tuesday sought a report from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government within a week over the gruesome killing of four women vocational trainers in a terrorist attack in North Waziristan’s tribal district on Monday.

Terming it a serious incident, the speaker said he would direct the provincial chief secretary to present him the report within a week after the matter was raised by MNA from the same area Mohsin Dawar, who also wanted to talk about it during the assembly session on Monday, but could not do so due to a noisy protest from the treasury and opposition benches.

In a brazen daylight attack, masked terrorists on Monday shot dead four women vocational trainers and injured their driver near Mirali in North Waziristan tribal district. According to the police, the vehicle carrying five women was driving through Eppi village near Mirali when the gunmen opened fire on it, killing four of them on the spot. All the slain women belonged to nearby Bannu district. The driver of the vehicle suffered bullet injuries in the attack. The police statement said that one woman trainer survived as she took shelter in the village.

Mr Dawar said it was a real tragedy that four women workers of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) had been killed in the broad daylight and there had been no debate on the incident in parliament as well as the national media. “Yes, this is a serious issue. I will seek a report from the KP government. I direct the chief secretary to present the report in one week time,” ruled the speaker, following which Mr Dawar did not agitate.

The matter was raised in the house by MNA from North Waziristan

After the incident, the police in a statement had declared the slain women as NGO workers, but later they changed their stance and said that the women had been working for a training institute.

Meanwhile, the speaker on Tuesday snubbed the protesting lawmakers belonging to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) from Karachi when they once again started a noisy protest over the alleged attack on opposition leader in Sindh Haleem Adil Sheikh in a prison and suspended the proceedings as soon as the members from both sides of the aisle carrying placards started to gather in front of his dais.

Expressing his displeasure, the speaker said it was not appropriate for members of the government to create such a situation in the house. However, the PTI members ignored the speaker’s directive and continued their protest and in the meanwhile some of the opposition members, belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party, also brought out their placards and banners and came near the speaker’s dais. “If the government members will do it then I will adjourn the house,” the speaker threatened, and then suspended the proceedings for 10 minutes.

When the house resumed its proceedings, Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri was in the chair. Sources said the protesting PTI members from Karachi had a meeting with the speaker in his chamber. In the meeting, the PTI MNAs received a snub from the speaker, who categorically told them that he would not give them the floor come what may. On Monday, the same members had disrupted the proceedings, forcing the speaker to adjourn the sitting.

The assembly passed three private members’ bills — the Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2020, the Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Interest on Private Loans Bill, 2020, and the Al-Karam International Institute Bill, 2020.

Besides this, the members introduced six private members’ bills which were referred to the committees concerned. The introduced bills included the Safe Milk and Dairy Bill, 2021, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the Islamabad Poultry Production Regulation Bill, 2021, and the Islamabad Bee-Keeping and Honey Board Bill, 2021.

The National Assembly will now meet on Friday morning at 11am.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2021