FROM A RINGSIDE SEAT

Rehman Malik, Minister for Interior, came under severe criticism from the treasury benches during the National Assembly session. The charge levelled by Noor Alam Khan, Pakistan People's Party Parliamentary Secretary on Petroleum, was that Malik requested the provincial government to release Raymond Davis, sent on six day physical remand by the local court the same day.
Rehman Malik was forced by Noor Alam Khan to give a policy statement on the floor of the House and appear before a committee of the House to disprove allegation against him in this regard. Noor Alam expressed concern that the US official may have already been released on the intervention of Interior Minister.
Surprisingly not a single voice was raised by Pakistan Muslim League-N members on the reported phone call of Malik. This lapse may be because the fiery leader of the Opposition was not present in the august House today and attendance by the main opposition party was poor as well. The front rows were empty in the first hour, but later Khawaja Asif and PML-N's chief whip Sheikh Aftab Ahmed turned up. The back benchers, however, as usual were present and gave a tough time to the government during the question hour.
As Raymond Davis incident was the first of its kind in Pakistan's diplomatic history, it was expected to dominate the proceedings of the Parliament on Friday. But the majority of the legislators were seen gossiping and trying to get the Prime Minister's signatures on their applications. As usual, Prime Minister Gilani was busy signing the applications of treasury and opposition members.
The issue on the Lahore incident was raised after question hour, when Noor Alam Khan rose on a point of order and accused Rehman Malik of directing the provincial government to release Davis. This was totally unexpected and Rehman Malik typically first denied the charge and subsequently offered to appear before a special committee of the House to prove his innocence. He assured the House and Noor Alam Khan that the "guy is still in the police custody." He further added that as this is a provincial subject, provincial government would deal with it "and it does not need my help."
Malik added that he would take the House into confidence once the inquiry is completed and assured that the man in custody would be dealt with according to the law of our land. He added that the fact that the US citizen possessed firearms was also being investigated.
Another PPP's MNA, Mohammad Hayat Khan, Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee on Government Assurances, stated that none of the political parties gave a statement in the House condemning the incident and maintained that this was regrettable. Many seated in the press gallery thought this was Hayat's way of hitting the Opposition PML-N on the knuckles with the Opposition's silence on this issue attributable to the fact that the incident occurred in Lahore, the heartland of Punjab. Hayat accused Davis of being a US spy and added that it is the responsibility of the Punjab government and other stakeholders to investigate thoroughly and restore sovereignty of the country otherwise he warned that a more serious anti-US reaction was in the offing.
There was no statement of condemnation against the incident in the parliament and there was no consensus on a line of action because the debate on the issue centered on Rehman Malik's reported phone call. The upper House, Senate, however, strongly condemned the killing of Pakistanis and called for his fair trial without any leniency.