The opposition Senators on Thursday held their parallel 'session' at the Parliament's House lawn for the second consecutive day with fiery speeches against wrong statistics of casualties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to terrorism incidents provided to the house by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Braving the cold and rain, the lawmakers remained firm in their belief that figures presented by Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on October 30 were wrong.
About 50 senators from opposition parties took part in the 'session' led by opposition leader Aitzaz Ahsan while senators belonging to Fata and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) preferred to stay on the government side as expected. The members passed a resolution against Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan for submitting wrong statistics on deaths in US drone attacks in tribal areas of Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Senator Raza Rabbani of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) alleged that by giving incorrect figures about drone killings, the Interior Minister had strengthened the US stance. He said that he would issue working papers on the poor performance of the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in both the houses of parliament - Senate and National Assembly.
He said that his party always preferred the national inertest and did not compromise on issues of national interest. He urged the government to take action to ensure that Pakistani territory is not used for any kind of attacks and all foreign fighters should be expelled. He questioned as to whom they should believe as Nawaz Sharif had told British deputy PM that talks with Taliban had started, while Nisar Ali Khan had said talks with the Taliban were about to start while the militants claimed there had been no contacts for talks.
He also said that the government should inform the nation and the parliament about the steps taken by it, adding that secret rendezvous would be harmful for the interests of the country. "The environment shows that Taliban are not ready for talks and in such a situation the government must find it out that whether they [Taliban] are ready for talks or not, besides making its position clear on the demands put forward by the militants," he maintained. Rabbani said that if Taliban were ready for talks, then the names of negotiators from government's side should be shared with the lawmakers, besides endorsing it from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly.
ACHAKZAI INTERVENES In the wake of continuing confrontation between the opposition and the government, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, head of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, called on the opposition senators and requested them to end their boycott. In a meeting with Aitzaz Ahsan, Raza Rabbani and Kamil Ali Agha, he urged the opposition senators to end their boycott of Senate sessions but it remained inconclusive as the opposition refused to budge from its stance unless the figures are withdrawn by the interior minister.
A meeting of all coalition parties in federal government led by leader of the house in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq was also held. The meeting was also attended by Chaudhry Nisar.
During the meeting, the members discussed what the opposition said 'un-parliamentary behaviour' of the interior minister, which had prompted them to boycott Senate sessions. Meanwhile, speaking to media representatives outside the Parliament House, Nisar said that if the opposition wanted to create a "scene" outside the Parliament, it could continue doing so. The parallel 'session' of the opposition senators will be held again at the same venue on Friday.
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