FROM A RINGSIDE SEAT

Tuesday's proceedings at the National Assembly was dominated by the Opposition on the question concerning government's attempt to limit the civil liberties. The matter came up in the form of a number of privilege motions, but only one was admitted, that of the last night arrest of MNA Zamurrad Khan at Rawalpindi.
The remaining privilege motions were put on hold by the Speaker for the time being. In fact, there was a surfeit of privilege motions during the brief 90 minutes sitting- that started 40 minutes behind the schedule with noisy uproar continuing in the House until it was adjourned for Wednesday morning after the call was announced for Maghreb prayers.
Those who raised the privilege motions included Tahmina Daulatana, Raja Muhammad Asad, Hanif Abbasi, Akbar Chitrali and Farid Piracha. All maintaining that they were arrested from the parliament Lodges (they described it as the precinct of the Parliament). Tahmina Daulatana charged that an attempt was made to arrest her from her House at Lahore.
Incidents of firing of mortar shells at the residence of the Leader of the Opposition Maulana Fazlur Rahman as well as planting of explosive by a minion of centre's intelligence agency close to the residence of NWFP chief also came up in the form of privilege motions.
Barister Aitzaz Ahsan averred the government was setting a bad precedent (he used the world 'tradition), and a PPP leader Shah Mahmud Qureshi asked if such maltreatment was being meted to MNAs was it possible for a common citizen to expect justice?
As usual the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Khan Niazi tried to hide behind the pretext that such weighty matters cannot be raised under the cover of points of order.
However, Aitzaz Ahsan, Syed Naveed Qamar, Liaquat Baloch, and Raja Pervez Ashraf stood their ground, asserting that it was a question of freedom that protects an individual from the government's abuse of power in interfering with citizens'lives albeit it was being done against Members of the Parliament.
They said the matter had a wider dimension. The privilege of the House itself was breached by witholding from NA Speaker, the fact of a Member's arrest. The arrest had been made by minions of the Punjab government to make it look like a question of maintenance of public order.
Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao was quite tentative about these motions and admitted there had been a lapse some where. MNA Syed Naveed Qamar, who moved the question of breach of privilege pointed out that not only Article 66 of the question was violated but the agency that arrested Zamurrad Khan had also caused harm to Assembly Rule 103 that states' when a Member is arrested on a criminal charge or for criminal offence or is sentenced to imprisonment by a court of law or is detained under an executive order the committing judge, magistrate or the executive authority, as the case may be, shall immediately intimate such facts to the Speaker.'
By the way, the procession led on Tuesday morning by PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Husain near the proximity of the Supreme Court also echoed in the House. The Opposition were claiming that the ruling party had now politicised the reference issue whereas earlier they were asking people to let the judiciary settle the matter.
Masjid Hafsa and Lal Masjid affairs came in for attention, significantly, at the behest of more women Members, than males. Afsar Begum, Gule Farkhanda, and Mehnaz Rafi asked when and where would the matter end?
State Interior Minister Iqbal Warraich cautioned patience. He said that Chaudhry Sahib (Shujaat Husain) had volunteered to solve the problem . 'We shall soon hear the final solution, which is near.'
For Karachi readers we may add that load shedding in the city of lights also grabbed attention. Laiquat Jatoi, the Minister concerned, asked for patience since the matter was in the ken of the government. Actually load shedding had been minimised to only about 600 MG. Jaoti asked for less consumption of electricity.
Although there were many noisy exchanges in the House we might draw some satisfaction from the fact that Private Members fielded quite a few Bills. This shows the Members were now trying to make the Parliament relevant to constituents, and by implication pointing out government's inattention to basic matters concerning the public.
It is uncertain whether the Bill would secure the leave of the House and be accepted. But at least, it shows the preparedness on the part of MNAs to raise public's vital concerns.
Be that as it might one noticed dismal presence in the public Visitors' Galleries. When the proceedings began there were only four people sitting in the Visitors Galleries, which increased to about 40, including four women, in a Gallery, which has room for about 120 visitors.
A private members' day should be an occasion for members to attract constituents to witness how the Parliament worked and to make the House more accessible to the citizens. In the evening the House received a delegation of 14 member from the Indian Lok and Rajya Sabha led by Kumari Nirmala Deshpande. Speaker Chaudhry Amir Husain welcomed them and the Members thumbed their desks in good gesture.