 ISLAMABAD: Outbursts of grief and anger over natural and man-made disasters marked the opening of a session of the National Assembly requisitioned by the opposition on Thursday, but the main agenda for a debate on flood devastation was put off for a day to mourn a minister’s death.
The Pakistan Muslim League-N which has requisitioned the special session, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement also fired warning shots at each other over a controversial statement by MQM leader Altaf Hussain perceived as a call for army intervention into political affairs, although rival privilege motions of the two parties were yet to be come up for consideration.
The government kept its cool against Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s broadsides over what he called its failure to convene a scheduled session of the house last month and for delaying the requisitioned session until the last but one day of the deadline, while some members of the Pakistan People’s Party appeared supportive of the PML-N leader’s criticism of the MQM leader’s call to “patriotic generals” in an Aug 22 speech to take “martial law-type action against corrupt politicians and feudal lords”.
The opposition leader said he would put forth “each and every point” of the issue when a PML-N privilege motion against Mr Hussain’s outburst was taken up, probably on Friday and, in a reference to MQM’s position in its main stronghold, added that “it is not Karachi that anyone could use threats”.
“Then we too are not the subjects of ‘takhat-i-Lahore’,” MQM parliamentary leader and Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Farooq Sattar retorted in a reference to the PML-N government of Punjab, as he said his party would press its own rival privilege motions about PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif’s seven-year exile in Saudi Arabia from December 2000 under a disputed deal with the then military president Pervez Musharraf and a reported secret meeting of Chaudhry Nisar and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif with Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in September last year.
While Chaudhry Nisar said the MQM chief’s statement had “shaken Pakistan’s democratic foundations” and it would be a “great sin” to remain quiet about it, the MQM appeared to be backtracking over the issue following a widespread backlash from most political parties.
Mr Sattar said the stand taken by Mr Hussain and the MQM was not for a change of government. “What we have talked of is a change of system.”
The house, which began with special prayers for Local Government Minister Abdul Razzaq Thaheem who died on Wednesday and for those killed by floods and Wednesday’s suicide bomb attacks on a Shia mourning procession in Lahore, failed to decide whether the debate on floods beginning on Friday would continue on Saturday or last until Monday after a two-day weekend break, before Speaker Fehmida Mirza adjourned the proceedings until 10am on Friday.
Riaz Hussain Pirzada led a token walkout by Pakistan Muslim League-Q members, which was also joined by the MQM, to protest against the Lahore attacks and another PML-Q member, Sheikh Waqas Akram, repeated his oft-spoken charges of official protection to the militants of banned religious groups in Punjab which, he said, had proved correct. |
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Updated at: 07 February 2012
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| 3rd Test: England finish at 36-0 in 324-run chase against Pakistan  DUBAI: England, chasing a big 324-run target, closed the third day at 36-0 in the third and final Test against Pakistan at Dubai Stadium on Sunday.
Andrew Strauss (19) and Alastair Cook (15) were at the crease when the stumps were drawn. They need another 288 runs for a win with all ten wickets intact.
Pakistan, leading the series 2-0, made 365 in their second innings.
Scoreboard:
Pakistan 1st innings 99 (Asad Shafiq 45; S. Broad 4-36, J. Anderson 3-35)
England 1st innings 141 (A. Strauss ...
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Updated at: 07 February 2012
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| I’ve signed a British film: Veena Malik  ... claims Pakistani starlet Veena Malik, who is crossing over from Bollywood to international cinema
She is yet to make her Bollywood debut, but Pakistani starlet Veena Malik is already contemplating international cinema. The controversial actor informs BT that she has signed a British film, in which she has a powerful role. "I am getting many offers from across the globe. Recently, a UK film team was in Dubai and I was shortlisting a few offers that would suit me. I have zeroed in on a few ...
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| SC suspends membership of 28 MPs elected through by-polls  ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: The Supreme Court has suspended the membership of 28 parliamentarians who were elected to their seats in the National Assembly and Senate through by-polls held after the 18th amendment.
The order came on Monday as Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry resumed hearing of a ...
| | Pakistan will always remain relevant for Afghanistan's future: Gilani  ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, talking to the media before heading for Qatar on Monday, said that Pakistan will always remain relevant in determining the future of Afghanistan.
Gilani headed to Qatar to discuss Afghan peace efforts in the ultra-rich Gulf state where the Taliban and ...
| | Kashmir – key milestone for Indo-Pak growth: Shankar  NEW DELHI: Indian Congressman and the former member of Indian parliament Mani Shankar described Kashmir issue being the biggest milestone to be surpassed if the two countries want serious progress on other sectors, reports SAMAA.
He said all the other longstanding issues would automatically come to ...
| | 50 trapped under debris after boiler explosion  LAHORE: At least 50 people were feared trapped under rubble of a three-storey building of a pharmaceutical company that collapsed due to a boiler explosion, Geo News reported.
Three houses alongside the building also razed to the ground.
According to the details, two dead bodies and five injured ...
| | SC deadline on 'by-polls legal cover' ends today  ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan’s deadline regarding legality of by-elections is ending today (Monday), Geo News reported.
According to details the fate of 28 parliamentarians hangs in balance as they would be rendered disqualified if government failed to have the 20th Constitutional amendment ...
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