Lawmakers from the coalition partner in Senate expressed serious reservation on Monday over the ongoing military operation in Swat and other parts of NWFP, demanding either to remove the army from the area or effectively intensify the operation to meet the set target.
On Point of Orders, a number of ANP and other senators of NWFP, expressed dissatisfaction over the ineffective military operation in Swat against the hard-liners, saying that it is much better to end instead of such inconclusive war, which only strengthen terrorists. "We and our relatives are not safe even at our homes at the hands of hard-liners and we are totally not satisfied over the performance of military as far as the operation is concerned", said ANP Senator Haji Adeel.
"Please remove army from that area and deploy it in the eastern border. And hand us over to God and Taliban", remarked the much frustrated senator from ANP. We have time and again reminded the federal government that the strategy of the army in the restive Swat and other parts of the NWFP is totally ineffective but no one is ready to listen our concerns, he said.
Adding the elected representatives are stuck up here and could not go to their homes as they are being targeted by terrorists even amid the heavy deployment of armed forces. He held Ziaul Haq responsible for breeding Taliban at the behest of US. Senator Ilyas Bilour said that people of NWFP are in a state of war and sought the help of federal government to rescue them.
"Nothing is safe and secure in our province. We are at the mercy of terrorists. Elected representatives, their relatives and government officials are being assassinated in a broad daylight but nobody is there to help them", he maintained. "We are absolutely disappointed over the performance of military there and we are not safe in their presence", he lamented.
"For God sake do something to stop it. Otherwise another East Pakistan would soon be emerged there", he warned. The menace of terrorism, he underlined, would not remain limited to that area as people from the Southern Punjab are also among the fighters active there.
Without any clear-cut policy on behalf of the federal government, Minister for Inter-provincial Co-ordination Senator Raza Rabbani termed the situation sensitive. He added that government is serious to resolve the issue and its directions are quite right and whatever step is being taken as per decisions of the parliamentary committee formed at the end of the joint session of both the houses of the Parliament.
He condemned the terrorist act took place on Monday morning in Peshawar, where hard-liners torched buses of a private school and planted a bomb there. On a Point of Order, Senator Professor Ibrahim of MMA quoted a story of Daily Business Recorder that US is pressurising Pakistan to cancel a deal with China for purchasing locomotives from it.
Senator Rabbani asked Professor Ibrahim to provide the copy of story and he would investigate the matter. He further added that government would distribute Rs 350,000 to every household in the earthquake-affected areas of Balochistan for construction of damaged houses. Senator Azam Khan Swati assured the support of five districts of Hazara against India if it resorted to any adventurism. The House would meet on Tuesday at 10 pm.