The opposition in the Senate on Thursday castigated the government for 'political victimisation' of Senator Shahid Hasan Bugti and Khawaja Saad Rafique, leading to a token walkout from the House.
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao will make a statement on the floor of the House on the matter on Friday. However, he said that some issues might not fall in his 'jurisdiction'.
Pakistan Peoples' Party Parliamentarians Senator Mian Raza Rabbani moved the adjournment motion about placing some lawmakers' name in the Exit Control List (ECL), including Senator Bugti from Balochistan.
As the House resumed business with 35 minutes delay, Rabbani moved a motion for the suspension of question hour to initiate debate on the foreign policy.
Speaking on the admissibility of the motion, Senator Bugti said that it was a matter of shame and condemnation that besides elected representatives, names of three female family members of Nawab Bugti were included in the ECL.
He wondered the logic behind this action, saying the females never indulge in politics nor appeared in public. The senator, who is son-in-law of Akbar Bugti, said that the copy of fresh ECL list was dispatched to the Prime Minister Secretariat, NAB, Directorate ISI, Intelligence Bureau and Directorate Military Operations.
He questioned why this intimation was made to the Directorate Military Operations.
The senator complained that he was under surveillance ever-since he came to Islamabad to attend the Senate session. He received the ECL intimation in April. He disputed the inclusion of his own name and those of three females in the list and contended that they had to live in Pakistan, having no green card, as many in the government and their family members had. "The most ironic part of the issue is that some government functionaries who are facing NAB cases, are free to move but elected representatives with clean track record are barred from going abroad," he pointed out.
Shifting from the topic, the senator alleged that what was going on in Balochistan was not aimed at establishing the government writ. Some other factors are involved in it. "We wish the government writ is established across Pakistan," he remarked. Like any civilised society, the senator wished some financial relief offered to the poor citizens.
On a point of order, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Senator M. Ishaq Dar pointed out that immediately after the previous National Assembly session, the under detention PML MNA Saad Rafique was being subjected to mental and physical torture. "Vindictiveness now stands exposed. It is a matter of shame that the lawmaker is being referred to unauthorised officials for interrogation despite being bailed out in five cases. Fake cases are being famed against him," he charged.
Senator Rabbani said that the PML MNA was being sent from one police station to another like football and being subjected to worst type of torture, adding in 3-4 days, he was shuttled between five police stations.