Government asked to make serious efforts towards ending violence in Karachi: Sindh Assembly condemns killings

A woman member of Sindh Assembly on Friday asked the government to shoulder its responsibility and make serious efforts to subdue the continued violence that is bedevilling the residents of the metropolis as it has left thousands of innocent people dead and caused huge loss to trade and business.
While another female lawmaker left the Sindh Assembly's members spellbound, when she clamoured over the killings of innocent Baloch youths and members of other ethnic communities, saying, "What not this assembly can do to stem the unrest, if its sincerely wants to do."
The session of the provincial legislature held here with Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza in the chair. At the end of the proceedings, she allowed tabling of a resolution on city's unrest, which Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM), Muhammad Moin Aamir Pirzada had forwarded.
The resolution received support from all political parties and was passed unanimously, which denounced terror in the city. Lawmakers of MQM, PPP, ANP and PML-F took part in debate over the resolution before voting to pass it. Initiating debate on the move, MQM's member Muhammad Shoib Ibrahim showed concerns over the diminishing trade activities in the city due to violence and extortion activities, asking the government to extend airtight protection to the businessmen community facing life threats.
A lady lawmaker of Pakistan Muslim League Functional (PML-F), Nusrat Sehar Abbasi, said bodies bearing torture marks are found in the city on daily basis and everyone in the house clamoured over the killings. "But from whom we are demanding to stemming the unrest in the city?" she asked, saying that why the extortionists were not exposed.
She said the government should carry out operations against the killers and extortionists. She said targeted killers and extortionists did not exist only in Lyari rather they were everywhere in Karachi. A lady member of PPP, Farzana Hanif, said all the ethnic communities of the city had been co-existing in the metropolis and urged the society to review what went wrong that triggered violence. She said a co-ordinated conspiracy was behind the violence and killing in the city.
She said that the city and all ethnic communities including Baloch were undergoing a difficult phase of their history. "It has become impossible for member of one community to venture into the area of other community for fears," she added. She also recalled the incident, wherein Baloch youth was subjected to severe torture in Saudabad by members of other ethnic group. She deplored that the bodies of innocent people were found stuffed in gunny bags in the city. She underlined the need for efforts by society to end communal differences and hatred among different ethnic groups to establish lasting peace in the city. "We all are one," she said.
Farzana said the people sitting in the assembly could do anything to stop the unrest in Karachi and if sincere efforts were made the killings would come to an end. MQM's lawmaker Muhammad Tahir Qureshi observed that a large number of traders had left the city and some of them the country to protect their lives from killers. He urged the government to step up against the extortionists and killers and bring them to justice.
He believed the continued unrest in the city was a planned conspiracy against the ruling coalition and the law enforcing agencies. He showed worries over the organised network of extortionists, who gave an exact response to the assembly's condemnation to their crimes by killing traders on the same day.
ANP's lawmaker Amanullah Khan Mehsud supported the resolution and said the ANP activists were also being killed along with the MQM and PPP. He raised question over the performance of law enforcing agencies against the killings of political workers of different parties in the city. He said these agencies extract huge funds from the national exchequer but have miserably to stem the violence and protect the lives of innocent people. He proposed that separate terrorism courts should be set up to deal with the cases exclusively of killings and other violence striking the city.
The PPP's lady legislator, Ayesha Khoso, said Baloch, Sindhi, Pakhtuns and Urdu speaking people were being gunned down in the city everyday. She urged the political groups to seek a permanent solution to the unrest. A senior legislator of MQM, Syed Sardar Ahmed, and Sindh Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Ayaz Soomro also supported the resolution and expressed their views.
Earlier, two bills were introduced in the house including The Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Sakrand Bill 2012 and the Lyari and The Malir Development Authorities (Revival and Amending) Bill 2012. Besides, the house voted unanimously to allow the government to withdraw The Lyari and The Malir Development Authorities (Revival and Amending) Bill, 2009. The Deputy Speaker adjourned the house till Monday evening.