ISLAMABAD Dec 8: The combined opposition in the Senate on Monday blasted the federal and provincial governments for what it termed “worst law and order situation” prevailing in the country.
It criticized Islamabad “for taking no interest” in the release of “over six thousand Pakistani prisoners” languishing in Afghan jails and demanded immediate steps for their release.
The opposition put blame on “agencies” for the kidnapping for ransom of six people, including four women, in Balochistan and demanded their immediate and safe release.
Earlier, the issue of kidnapping was raised by a woman treasury senator from Balochistan in the upper house which led to an uproar and resulted in the walking out of the combined opposition en bloc.
Speaking at a joint news conference at parliament house committee room, senator Asfandyar Wali Khan, chief of Awami National Party (ANP), which also joined the combined opposition, accused the government of giving a cold shoulder to Kabul’s offer of releasing all Pakistani prisoners for conducting their scrutiny on its own.
He offered his party’s services for getting the Pakistani prisoners from Afghan jails released if the government was incapable for doing anything for them.
Mr Wali said a delegation of his party had visited Kabul before Eid and requested Afghan president Hamid Karzai to release the Pakistani prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.
Mr Karzai, he said, ordered release of 50 prisoners (30 from Kabul and 20 from the infamous Shibergan jail) and later disclosed that Pakistan had already been offered to take possession of all its prisoners and conduct their screening on its own as Kabul was unable to do the job.
To my dismay and the dismay of the nation, more than three months have passed since the offer was made but Islamabad has not responded, Asfandyar said.
He claimed that the Pakistani embassy in Kabul refused to get possession of 50 prisoners “in our presence and we readily left the venue” to facilitate the poor prisoners to return home.
Maulana Samiul Haq, vice-president of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, announced MMA’s full support to any effort aimed at getting the unfortunate Pakistani prisoners back home.
He opposed putting in Pakistani jails the prisoners released from Kabul in the name of screening and exposing before CIA.
PPP’s parliamentary leader in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani regretted what he called the apathy of the government with no responsible person including the interior minister present in the upper house to respond to the hue and cry over the women’s kidnapping incident.
He also criticized the government for failing to bring the issue of Islamabad’s efforts at normalisation of ties with India to parliament.
Prof Khurshid Ahmed of Jamaat-i-Islami said the combined opposition’s protest will continue as long as the government “does not bring the amendment bill to parliament”.
He alleged that the army-led government had unleashed the worst form of terrorism on parliament by denying it its constitutional role.