ISLAMABAD, Nov 5: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) has submitted an adjournment motion to the National Assembly to discuss the return of over 70 Chinese officers and workers to their country without completing work on the Gomal Zam project.

The adjournment motion, signed by 14 MNAs, was submitted to the National Assembly Secretariat on Friday. Through the motion, moved under Rule 92 of Rules and Procedures for Business of Conduct in the National Assembly 1992, the MMA members had drawn the attention of the government towards the departure of 70 officials of China Hydro-Electric Company to their country after the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in the tribal area.

The MMA MNA said this showed that the Chinese officials were not satisfied with the security measures being taken by the government for them. They said this also exposed the inefficiency of the security and law-enforcement agencies. Moreover, they said, China was a very old and time-tested friend of Pakistan and such situations could harm the relations between the two countries.

Keeping in view the importance of the matter, the MMA MNAs demanded that the issue should be discussed on the floor of the house after adjourning the normal proceedings.

The motion has been signed by Liaquat Baloch, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Asadullah Bhutto, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, Maulana Ahmed Ghafoor Ghwas, Mohammad Laeeq Khan, Abdus Sattar Afghani, Dr Attaur Rahman, Sahibzada Haroonur Rashid, Shabbir Ahmed Khan, Maulana Abdul Malik, Dr Farida Ahmed, Mohammad Hussain Mehnati and Farid Ahmed Paracha.