FROM A RINGSIDE SEAT

In the National Assembly on Friday it was Qazi vs Qazi: both knew what they were saying. Qazi Hussain Ahmad had just returned from an extensive tour of quake-hit areas where the contribution of his Jamaat-i-Islami in alleviating sufferings of the affected is substantial.
And the other Qazi, federal education minister Senator General Javed Ashraf Qazi (Retd), being a closer privy to the mind of armed forces was better qualified than all others to inform the house of the reality on the ground. Eloquent and sincere in their presentations, both helped in lending an informed perspective to the tragedy, as deputy speaker Sardar Yaqoob Khan opened the floor for discussion on the earthquake and its deadly aftermath.
But Aitzaz Ahsan, who was the first to take the floor, to bemoan that the National Assembly session, as conducted, is in violation of the Constitution and a burden on his conscience.
Rising on a point of order, Aitzaz Ahsan maintained it would be chasing the law to conclude that explanation appended to Article 54(2) justified the current practice of meeting only thrice a week. It is a concession, much less a convention, and should not be exploited to pay members for the whole week when they meet only on three days, he said, adding: "I protest against this practice."
He warned next time when this assembly is "dismissed" one of the reasons proffered in support of subversion of the Constitution would be its perfunctory functioning. If the government is short of legislative business, the house should take up the myriad motions, bills, questions, etc, that the opposition has submitted with the assembly secretariat. Saying this, he informed the house he has already surrendered his salary "because what is being done is subversion of the Constitution ... "My conscience does not allow it."
Sher Afgan, who is the minister of parliamentary affairs and fights back with the conviction of a convert, got impatient with Aitzaz Ahsan's argument. His hand was up in the air most the time the opposition member was making his point. As soon as the mike was passed on to him he burst: "Framers of the Constitution were not a stupid lot."
They had contemplated a situation like the one now and, therefore, they provided for it by adding the Explanation to Article 54 (B). "You mean to suggest that framers were wrong and we are right," he looked at Aitzaz Ahsan, adding those who voted for this very provision included late Z.A. Bhutto." The minister also taunted at Ahsan's earlier announcement of donating Rs200,000 to the relief fund.
"Yes, you are welcome to announce your donation but you cannot speak on behalf of other members." Soon some other opposition members offered support to what Aitzaz Ahsan was driving at. That infuriated law minister Wasi Zafar, who accused the opposition members of making speeches on points of order just to steal media coverage, provoking some sparring in the house, but the chair quickly brought the house back to order.
Qazi Hussain Ahmad, who had just returned after visiting a number of places in quake-hit areas, opened the regular debate on the post-earthquake situation in the NWFP and Azad Kashmir. "Without going into formalities, I come straight to the subject under discussion: our first preference should be to save people from the cold. Most essential requirement is providing people with tents, blankets and warm bedding ... These things are not reaching the people."
He said there is a need for closer co-ordination between the government and others, who are in the field. The government also lacks database, which again the voluntary organisations can help it build.
That familiar sight of beautiful boys and girls on way to school has vanished as most of them lie buried under the debris, lamented Qazi Sahib, stressing the need that schools, may be in tents, should be restarted as early as possible. "We are prepared to provide teachers," he said, asking authorities to try find out how come most of the government schools collapsed.
He also strongly urged upon the government to cooperate with voluntary organisations that have set up field hospitals in affected areas "instead of hampering their work".
"Don't stop your sincere people coming to help the earthquake victims just because some westerns particularly the Jews have al Qaeda in their minds." He offered every kind of help and protection to orphans and widows, adding: "We have the wherewithal to give orphans the best possible education and honour and dignity to the widows."
If the army finds it difficult to open up difficult roads Jamaat volunteers, who are familiar with these mountains, are prepared to join troops with earth-removing tools. "The government has nothing with it. In Islamabad, when the government required a bulldozer, it had to be hired." Qazi Hussain Ahmad proposed the National Assembly should set up bipartisan committee to ensure transparency in the use of funds for relief and rehabilitation.
He said the army high command did not have any idea about the enormity of losses till about evening of October 8 as by that time army alone had suffered 3500 fatalities but the ISPR chief was saying about one thousand died throughout the country. "How can we trust this army," he said, added the entire people are suffering just because a single individual has grabbed everything incurring God's wrath.
As expected, General Javed Ashraf Qazi (Retd) stood up to respond to Qazi Hussein Ahmed's poignant prognosis. Most of proposals made by Qazi Sahib are already being acted upon. Co-ordination between the army and volunteers including those belonging to MQM and Jamaat-i-Islami is in place and all sides together are moving hand-in-hand.
In Kaghan valley, base camp has been set up at Kawai and teams are moving further up into difficult areas from there. However, recurring landslides triggered by aftershocks impede progress in both Kaghan and Jhelum valleys. The education minister informed the house some helicopters, which can ferry heavy road-building plants, are expected to arrive soon.
On education front, he said his ministry has dispatched five survey teams to affected areas, who on return, will submit a report on damages to school buildings, which would be the federal government's responsibility to repair and make them functional.
As for the reconstruction, according to Qazi, more than a dozen designs for earthquake houses are being examined. General Javed Ashraf Qazi (Retd) admitted delayed reaction on the part of the army, but said it was inevitable given the enormity of damage to communications system and the fact that the force itself fell victim to the quake in a big way. Over 700 troops were injured, some 400 lost their lives.
The Qazi vs Qazi debate dominated the sitting that lasted just about two hours and a few minutes. One other thing that the house did was adoption of a resolution that recommends that each member would adopt a certain area for his or her concentration to rehabilitate it. The opposition did not oppose it except Naheed Khan, who later on, asked the chair to put on record that the resolution was not unanimously passed. The house will now meet on Monday.