ISLAMABAD, Feb 10: Opposition parties in the National Assembly on Friday criticised the government over Thursday’s bomb attack on an Ashura procession in Hangu and other violence before Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain adjourned the house in protest against the publication of blasphemous cartoons by some European newspapers.

The opposition parties staged two walkouts on different issues during the brief session which was adjourned without any item on the day’s 21-point agenda being taken up.

The People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) MNAs staged a token walkout over the government’s move to approach Interpol for the arrest of party chairperson Benazir Bhutto and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) members later staged a walkout over the killing of innocent people in the Hangu bomb attack and the bus explosion in Balochistan.

The proposal to adjourn the session came from Federal Minister for Law Wasi Zafar and was seconded by Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower Ghulam Sarwar Khan.

At the outset of the session, PPP’s Nabil Gabol said that the killing of innocent people in the Hangu bomb blasts had shown how lax and inadequate the law and order situation had become. “It seems that there is no writ of the government,” Mr Gabol said.

Another PPP MNA Syed Naveed Qamar said Hangu was already tense because of similar incidents in the past. Despite this, he said, the government failed to take preventive measures to check the incident on the day of Ashura. “We condemn the incident as well as the government for its failure to maintain law and order situation on Ashura Day,” the PPP MNA said.

Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali of the MMA held intelligence agencies responsible for the Hangu incident. He said the NWFP government had already ordered an inquiry into the incident and announced compensation for those who had been killed or injured in the bomb attack. Through this act, he said, some elements had tried to sow hatred among Muslim sects.

In response to the points raised by the opposition members, Minister of State for Interior Shahzad Waseem termed the Hangu incident an “act of terrorism”. He told the house that 27 people were killed and 47 others injured in the incident. He said some incidents of firing were also reported in the area soon after the blasts, but the situation was brought under control by army and the Frontier Constabulary (FC) men who reached the area immediately.

The minister said those responsible for the Hangu blasts would soon be brought to justice. He said the government had undertaken foolproof security arrangements for the Ashura day and had already directed the provincial governments to take appropriate steps in this regard. He said the security arrangements were good which was evident from the fact that no untoward incident was reported from any part of the country, except Hangu.

Speaking on a point of order, PPP’s Raja Pervez Ashraf asked the speaker to take up the adjournment motion submitted by them to discuss the government’s move to contact Interpol for the arrest of Ms Bhutto and issuance of red notices to her. He decried the government’s efforts to malign a national and popular leader were condemnable.

“As the government has so far not taken any step to withdraw the red notices, my party will stage a token walkout,” he said before leading his other colleagues out of the house.

Bilqis Saif of the MMA said that besides the Hangu incident, 13 people were killed in a bus explosion in Balochistan recently. She said there were also reports that two people were killed in Noshki due to firing by Afghan forces. According to her, the government had not stopped its military operation in Balochistan despite countrywide opposition.

Ms Saif asked the government to expel envoys of countries where the blasphemous cartoon had been published. She also called for withdrawing Pakistani diplomats from those countries. She said that her party would stage a walkout on all these issues.

MMA MNA Hakim Qari Gul Rehman said the assembly should hold a thorough debate on the issue of the publication of blasphemous sketches by some European newspapers.

The law minister said the whole proceedings of the assembly should be adjourned to register anger over the publication of blasphemous cartoons.