MMA asks government to call joint session of parliament

Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal has proposed that the government, instead convening an All-Parties Conference on the 8 October's national disaster, should have called a joint session of Parliament to look into matters arising in the aftermath of the quake.
The convening of the APC was mere eyewash to fool the people. The government must adopt concrete measures to overcome the crisis and leave no stone unturned for the rehabilitation of the victims, local leaders of MMA Mufti Hidayat ullah Pasroori, Rao Zafar Iqbal, Qari Abdul Rauf and Dr Arif Khan said here on Tuesday in a press statement.
They said that government should have taken into confidence all the opposition political parties to devise ways and means of giving respite to the affected people and chalk out a strategy to overcome such natural disaster and added that government should take all the political parties leaders into confidence to evolve a long-term strategy for the survivors of the earthquake and to cope with the any catastrophe in the future.
They further said that an All-Parties Conference suggested by PML leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain it was premature to say anything as the PML leader had just mooted the idea off the cuff but it had not been discussed threadbare in official circles. However, they said that were such a move to be given final shape, the MMA be delivered the invitation which would then decide the course of action with the mutual consent of the other components of the alliance.
They accused the government of adopting a very lackadaisical approach towards relief and rescue operations and said that the concerned quarters were just frittering away their energies by publicising their efforts instead of any practical, worthwhile help to the affected. Had the government taken the relief work sincerely, they said, the situation would have been different from what it is today.
The opposition, they said, was not just criticising for the sake of criticism. The actual fact, he said, was that the government was only interested in photo sessions instead of providing maximum services to the people who were spending nights under the open skies in inclement weather.
They said that MMA leaders were visiting the affected areas and all-out efforts were being carried out to extend all possible assistance to the victims of the disaster.
The government, they alleged, had failed to help out the survivors and had not provided shelter to the people which was its prime responsibility.
They further said that the government was just trying to score points whereas the opposition had whole-heartedly joined hands combat the tragedy, putting aside all political differences as the situation demanded unity and patriotism.