ISLAMABAD: Expressing grave concern over the security situation and rise in street crimes in various parts of Sindh, members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in the National Assembly on Thursday sought the federal government’s help to control the situation.

“If the Sindh government has failed to establish its writ, what role is the federal government playing?” asked MQM’s Sabheen Ghouri while speaking on a calling-attention notice regarding an increase in “incidents of suicide bombings in different parts of the country and incidents of snatching and gunshots in Karachi, Hyderabad and Kashmore”.

The MQM members protested against Information Minister Attaullah Tarar’s response when he termed the matter a provincial subject under the 18th Amendment and asked them to raise the issue in Sindh Assembly where the party has significant representation.

The minister, however, said the federal government was determined to eradicate terrorism and help the provinces improve their capacity-building to counter the menace as well as in the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) which was finalised after the terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar in 2014.

NA witnesses protest over minister’s claim that issue comes under province’s purview; Tarar says draft of National Counter Violent Extremism policy ready; PTI members outraged over travel bar on colleagues

Mr Tarar, who was responding on behalf of the interior minister, said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his visit to Karachi on Wednesday had discussed the Safe City project with Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and the latter had assured him that the provincial government would soon establish a Safe City camera network across Karachi.

The minister disclosed that a draft of the National Counter Violent Extremism 2024 policy had already been submitted to the federal cabinet for approval.

Pandemonium

The house saw a rumpus due to the PTI members’ protest over the minister’s remarks when he accused the previous government of preferring talks with the Taliban militants, instead of implementing NAP.

He held the previous PTI governments in Punjab and KP responsible for the resurfacing of terrorism in the country.

Opposition Leader Omar Ayub took the floor and lodged a protest over the minister’s remarks, stating that people of KP had suffered the most because of terrorism. He recalled that the decision to hold negotiations with the militants was taken during an in-camera joint sitting of parliament which was also attended by the top military officials.

Mr Tarar said following the 18th Amendment, it was the provinces’ responsibility to improve law and order, adding that the federal government was ready to assist them in this regard.

Raising the issue, MQM’s Nikhat Shakeel regretted that several young people lost their lives during mobile phone snatching incidents in Karachi. If the Sindh police had failed in performing their duties, then what role the federal government was playing, she wondered.

MNAs Rana Ansar and Sabheen Ghouri asked the federal government to announce a policy of paying compensation to the victims of street crimes.

Syed Waseem Hussain, an MNA from Hyderabad, said 60 to 70 people lost their lives in three months during street crimes in Karachi. He said in the past, too, they had witnessed the prime ministers’ visits, formation of committees and JITs, but there was no improvement. He said the federal government could not absolve itself by merely declaring it a provincial subject.

Travel bar

The PTI members also protested over the inclusion of party legislators in the exit control list (ECL) and no-fly lists and asked the government to remove their names. They also protested over the information minister’s reply when he asked them for a list so that he could provide information to them.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was of the view that instead of seeking the list, the minister should have provided them the required information.

He said it was not difficult for the government to search the names of parliamentarians in the lists and remove them.

The minister pointed out that the ECL contained the names of 4,842 people whereas 1,926 people had been placed on the PNIL (Provisional National Identification List) and both the lists had been prepared by the departments concerned following the legal procedure.

The PTI members accused the government of placing their names on the ECL as part of the alleged ongoing political victimisation.

Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah was apparently unable to run the house smoothly as on a number of occasions he was found helpless when lawmakers simultaneously started speaking, creating a fuss in the house.

At the outset, the treasury and opposition members protested over the absence of ministers, particularly Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, as the house was to take up the issues related to his ministry.

The NA will meet again on Friday morning.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2024