ISLAMABAD, April 7: Three members of the Senate, including one from the ruling coalition, on Monday submitted an adjournment motion to the Senate Secretariat seeking a debate on, what they called, a “vilification” campaign against nuclear scientist Dr A.Q. Khan on electronic media.

“This house does hereby adjourn to discuss the condemnable campaign of character assassination of Dr Qadeer Khan in the electronic media in recent days.

“Specifically on April 5, on two private television channels two programmes were simultaneously broadcast to vilify and impugn the character and contributions of Dr Qadeer Khan towards making Pakistan’s defence unassailable,” says the motion, a copy of which is available with Dawn.

The motion carries the signatures of Prof Khursheed Ahmed and Maulana Rahat Hussain of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) and Sadia Abbasi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

A source in the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) told Dawn that the newly-appointed Leader of the House Raza Rabbani was unhappy with Ms Abbasi for signing the motion as she was now a part of the government. The source said the PPP had decided to take up the matter with the PML-N top leadership.

The movers in their motion state that: “It is an undeniable reality that Dr Qadeer Khan is revered as a national hero and asset by the people of Pakistan. The contributions of Dr Qadeer Khan and his team towards guaranteeing Pakistan’s security are for generations to come and their role must be honoured.

“The vicious campaign of character assassination is indeed deplorable and needs to be condemned in no uncertain terms, and must be curtailed forthwith.”

The motion said there were certain areas of Pakistan’s national security that needed to be treated with utmost care and circumspection given the fragility of Pakistan’s internal and external security and policy issues.

Such matters must not be treated in offensive, seriously questionable and speculative manner which was employed in these television programmes, it added.

“The managements of these private television channels must exercise internal controls given the sensitivity of issues of national security policy. The contents of these programmes were highly derogatory and defamatory with reference to Dr Qadeer, and he had no opportunity to present his case.” The motion said the programmes were one-sided and clearly intended to defame Pakistan and bring its nuclear defence programme into disrepute.

“The Pakistan government must take notice of such broadcasts which cast serious aspersions on the role of Pakistan as a responsible actor in international politics,” the motion concluded.