ISLAMABAD, Aug 30: The government on Wednesday accepted an opposition’s demand to hold a debate in the National Assembly on Thursday on the killing of Jamhoori Watan Party chief Nawab Akbar Bugti and his associates in a military operation in Kohlu on Aug 26.
During a sitting marked by lack of quorum, Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain allowed the opposition members to table adjournment motions seeking a debate on Nawab Bugti’s killing and the situation in Balochistan after his death.
The opposition members belonging to Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) said the killing had endangered the federation as well as the existence of the country.
They regretted that the government had not handed over Nawab Bugti’s body to the bereaved family which they said was complicating the situation. They termed it the biggest military operation in the country in which several officials had also lost their lives.
Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi of the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) asked the government not to take the matter lightly as the law and order situation was worsening not only in Balochistan but also in Sindh.
“Please, realise the gravity of the situation,” he appealed to the treasury members.
Referring to a reported statement of Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi that people of the province were supporting President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s actions in Balochistan, the PPP member advised the government members not to pass ‘irresponsible’ remarks as it could aggravate the situation.
Speaking on a point of order, a member from Balochistan, Abdul Rauf Mengal claimed that the body of Nawab Bugti and those of his companions were lying in GHQ at Rawalpindi.
Mr Mengal, who belongs to the Balochistan National Party, said that emergency had been imposed in several parts of Balochistan where people were not even able to come out of their houses.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan dismissed the statement as mere allegation and asked the opposition members not to discuss the matter when it had already been decided that a debate on it would be held on Thursday.
Ms Naheed Khan of PPP ridiculed a claim by Inter-Service Public Relations chief Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan that they had recovered Rs100 million and $96,000 cash from the cave where the operation was carried out.
She said it was strange that the military had retrieved the bodies of security personnel and even cash from the site but it had failed to find mortal remains of Nawab Bugti.
TAX ON TRAVEL: Earlier, the speaker took notice of a decision of the Central Board of Revenue to impose Rs1,500 to Rs4,000 Federal Excise Duty on foreign travel.
The issue came under discussion when, in reply to a calling attention notice of five MMA members, Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan informed the house that the CBR was collecting the amount on different routes and classes due to non-implementation of the government’s decision to collect 15 per cent tax.
Syed Naveed Qamar of PPP and Liaquat Baloch of MMA said the CBR had no power to impose tax without approval from parliament.
The speaker directed the minister of state for finance to inquire about the matter and inform the house under which rule the CBR had changed the government’s decision.
RAIN IN SINDH: Khuda Bakhsh Nizamani and some other members from interior Sindh drew the attention of the house towards the destruction caused by recent rains and floods in Sanghar, Mirpurkhas and some other parts of the province.
They asked the federal government to declare those areas calamity hit and provide relief to the affected farmers.
At the outset, the speaker had to adjourn proceedings for about 30 minutes due to the lack of quorum.
Sahibzada Fazal Karim of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), chairing the session in its dying moments, kept on running the house for about 45 minutes without quorum. The assembly will meet at 10am on Thursday.