RAWALPINDI: The Opposition members in the National Assembly this evening [Feb 19] staged a token walkout when the chair … rejected on technical grounds an adjournment motion which Jamaat-i-Islami’s Prof Ghafoor Ahmad had sought to move on the “necessity of creating a congenial, amicable and peaceful atmosphere in the country which is necessary for consideration of the Constitution”.

In his introductory remarks … Prof Ghafoor Ahmad demanded that the Defence of Pakistan Rules should be suspended till the Constitution was passed. In the din that was raised to stop him from proceeding further, Prof. Ghafoor was heard criticising the “policies of the Government, continued arrest of Opposition leaders, and false propaganda against them”. Before resuming his seat, he shouted: “Don’t you know that Mian Tufail Ahmad has been arrested last night under the DPR!” — Special Representative

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Peking,] “The situation now prevailing in the Asian Sub-continent is not satisfactory”, Mr Chou En-lai, Chinese Prime Minis­ter, said here today [Feb 19] while speaking at a banquet given in honour of Begum Nusrat Bhutto. “Recently, certain external forces … have stepped up subversive activities … threatening the security of Pakistan.”

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2023