ISLAMABAD: As the crackdown on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ahead of the party’s “Azadi March” onto Islamabad intensified, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday apologised on the floor of the National Assembly for the raid by the Punjab Police on the residence of retired justice Nasira Iqbal, saying the government had nothing but respect for her.
Speaking in the house, Asif apologised for the excessive use of force during the raid at the retired judge’s residence but did say that the apology should not be selective as no one condemned when Noor Alam Khan – a PTI dissident’s – house was raided.
“I want to say this with the utmost respect that condemnation should not be selective. It should be above party lines,” Asif said, noting that despite Justice (retd) Nasira’s son being a member of the PTI, he condemned the raid.
He said that if a political worker repeats the same language as their leader, then they negate their political identity.
“A political worker does not use words such as vandalism,” he added. Earlier, Dr Fehmida Mirza of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), said that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) must not forget that it was this very political party due to which late Benazir Bhutto had to flee the country and her widower Asif Zardari had to spend 11 years in jail.
She said that free and fair elections in the country are needed the most to steer the country out of the prevailing crisis, adding the raid on houses of political leaders must stop forthwith.
The son of hardliner Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Fazlur Rehman, who is minister for communications, Maulana Asad Mahmood alleged that the PTI’s long march to Islamabad is foreign-funded and asked the authorities concerned to probe the matter.
“Funds are pouring in for PTI’s long march that needed to be investigated. I also demand of the Election Commission of Pakistan to decide the PTI’s foreign funding case without any further delay,” he said while speaking on a point of order in the NA.
Meanwhile, the house, unanimously passed a resolution, condemning the illegal detention of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik by the Indian government. The resolution, moved by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, urged the world community and human rights organizations to put pressure on the Indian government not to infringe on the basic human rights of Yasin Malik.
The state minister for petroleum, Dr Musadik Malik, informed the National Assembly that the government plans to bring an aggressive incentives package to facilitate exploration and production companies in order to encourage them for making investments in potential areas for giving a boost to oil and gas production in the country.
He said that the existing gas deposits are depleting at the rate of around 10 per cent per annum and the shortage is being met through imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is quite costly.
Responding to a calling attention notice moved by Qadir Khan Mandokhail and others regarding the shortage of gas in some areas of Karachi, he said that there was a need to increase the production capacity and make new discoveries to meet the ever-growing energy needs.
“We want to focus on discovering new reservoirs which will certainly help in reducing our reliance on imported fuel,” he added.
He said that the gas shortage was due to the natural depletion of gas in the wells connected with the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) which would be tackled by the induction of two new wells having cumulative production of around 30 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas within 7-8 days, for which a summary had already been moved for testing of wells.
“I have the list of six wells which are drying up and causing shortages of around 55-60 MMCFD gas,” he added.
The NA deputy speaker announced the appointment of Ahmed Hussain Deher as parliamentary leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dissidents in the house.
He said that some 13 PTI [dissidents] members had accorded their consent for appointing Deher as their parliamentary leader.
Responding to a point of order raised by PPP MNA Ghous Bux Mahar, the defence minister, Khawaja Asif, assured the house that all-out efforts would be made for the release of acting governor Sindh Agha Siraj Durrani on parole, who is in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The bills, which were introduced in the house include, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Employment of Children (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill 2022, the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022, the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and the Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The house also passed “The International Institute of Science, Arts and Technology Bill, 2021”.
The bill was moved by Romina Khurshid Alam.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022