PTI playing province card after 3 failed bids on capital: Asif

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif Tuesday said following three failed attempts on the Federation and the federal capital, the PTI leadership was now playing the card of provincialism.

Responding to the speech of Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, the defence minister said his grandfather Ayub Khan ran a campaign for the separation of East Pakistan “and now his generation from the floor of this house was sowing the seeds of provincialism”.

He said it also depended on the type of DNA which reflected the language of a person. “This is not a symbol of association and loyalty with the country the way they are speaking,” he said.

He maintained that the incumbent government would not allow the PTI leaders to achieve their anti-state agenda. “How many attacks will they launch on the federal capital? Kindly do not sow the seeds of provincialism, which the whole nation has to reap in future,” he said. Asif said the language used by the opposition leader against the integrity of the Federation reflected the mentality of a defeated person.

“I will say again that their three attacks on Islamabad have failed and their call for civil disobedience by the grace of Almighty Allah is also bound to fail,” he said, adding that the PTI leader would face more humiliation than that he suffered on November 26 when the whole leadership disappeared from Islamabad.

He recalled that it was the PTI founder who while standing on a container in 2014 gave the call for civil disobedience and also tore utility bills but nobody heeded his call. He regretted that the opposition leader, while playing the card of Pakhtuns and provincialism, addressed the students of an educational institution of Peshawar sitting in the visitors gallery. “All the four provinces are like brothers and are federating units and they have equal rights,” he said. He said the KP government was not ready to serve its people. He observed that the PTI leadership itself was facing an internal rift and many of its leaders had resigned from their positions. “I do not want to disclose but some of them are with us,” he said.

Engineer Hameed Hussain of Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen and Syed Rafiullah raised the issue of violent clashes which claimed over 130 lives in Kurram. Engineer Hameed, who was elected from Kurram, said controlling the Kurram situation was also the federal government’s responsibility. He pointed out that there was a shortage of medicines and food due to the tense situation and closure of the main road. He said the federal government was holding jirgas in Kurram.

Hameed said the main route should be opened immediately so as to overcome the shortage of food and medicines. He maintained that there was no sectarianism in Parachinar and Kurram and no fighting between Shias and Sunnis, rather the situation was being created for divide and rule.

Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar said the whole nation was grieved over the deaths in Parachinar clashes. However, he said law and order was a provincial matter within the constitutional framework and the federal government could not intervene unless requested by the provincial government. “This is totally a provincial matter and the government will have to find the solution,” he said.

The minister suggested to the KP chief minister that instead of writing letters to the federal government, he should talk to the governor who was the federal government’s representative. He agreed with Syed Rafiullah of PPP that the KP government should keep aside its political matters and oversee the whole situation. The minister regretted that the KP chief minister did not attend the All-Parties Conference convened by the governor, who was the Federation’s representative, on Parachinar situation.

Talking about the arrests during the PTI protest, Senator Azam Nazir Tarar said the prime minister while chairing a meeting in Islamabad issued categorical instructions that no innocent people should be prosecuted. “However, law will take its course in case the people created violence and took the law into their own hands,” he said, adding that the federal government was ready to extend support if requested by the provincial government. He said the sentiments of parliamentarians regarding the Parachinar situation would be conveyed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

Talking about the Balochistan situation, JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said the assassination of Nawab Akbar Bugti in 2006 started the insurgency among the youth. He also advised those having power that the issues of Balochistan could not be resolved with the use of force.

He called upon the government to constitute a high-powered committee to hold talks with all the stakeholders in Balochistan where people were talking about separation from the country adding that the federal government should not remain under any misunderstanding. He also asked the KP chief minister to improve the situation in Parachinar instead of focusing on D-Chowk. He feared that the situation in Balochistan and KP would get out of control if immediate remedial measures were not taken.

He said the bill concerning the registration of madrassas was passed by both the houses of parliament but it was not signed by the president despite the fact that he had passed all the other bills. The house was adjourned till Wednesday morning without taking up the business of the day after PTI member Iqbal Afridi pointed out the lack of quorum.

Earlier, a meeting of the house business adviser committee chaired by the Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq decided to continue the 11th session of the National Assembly till December 20.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of issuing “orders to kill” during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf protest on November 26. “We will not spare you and will not allow you to suppress these issues. Sardar Latif Khosa will soon file cases in this regard,” Omar Ayub said while speaking on a point of order in the National Assembly.

He alleged that Shehbaz Sharif was responsible for the killing of innocent people in both the Model Town incident in Lahore and PTI protest in Islamabad. “Why were bullets fired, and why did Shehbaz Sharif issue these orders?” he questioned.

The opposition leader further alleged that weapons, originally provided to the country’s security forces under the Nato Coalition Support Fund for use against terrorists, were used against peaceful protesters. These included high-velocity arms, such as M60 light machine guns, which he claimed were used indiscriminately against innocent citizens rallying for democracy and the rule of law. Omar Ayub compared the November 26 incident to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of April 13, 1919, saying that similar brutality was repeated in Islamabad. He demanded the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the loss of lives during what he called a “peaceful protest” by the PTI.

Speaking further, he said a judicial commission should be mandated to investigate the deaths of PTI activists and Rangers personnel during the protest. The opposition leader also warned of launching a civil disobedience campaign, both nationally and internationally, if the demands for judicial probes into the May 9 and November 26 incidents were not met, if PTI leaders and workers in custody were not given relief and if racial profiling of Pashtuns was not stopped. “We have devised a step-by-step plan for civil disobedience, which will be implemented if our demands are ignored,” he said.

Omar Ayub revealed that PTI’s founder had constituted a negotiation team of senior party leaders ready to hold talks with anyone, provided that relief is granted to imprisoned PTI leaders and workers. “Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Omar Cheema, senators Chaudhry Ejaz and Azam Swati, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, Hassan Niazi, and countless workers are still in jail. Meanwhile, Pashto-speaking individuals are being arrested solely based on their ethnicity,” he claimed.

He said that 12 PTI workers had lost their lives due to live gunfire, 200 were still missing and presumed dead, while 5,000 remained under arrest. “No lethal force should ever be used against peaceful protests,” he stressed. He also alleged that during the firing, attempts were made to assassinate Ali Amin Gandapur and Bushra Bibi.

“An armour-piercing round was fired at a bulletproof vehicle belonging to a security agency, mistakenly targeting them, thinking they were on board,” he said. He said that the armour-piercing round penetrated the bulletproof vehicle. He further alleged that Ali Amin Gandapur’s vehicle was chased and fired upon by pistols, and attempts were made to arrest them as they travelled to Haripur via Pir Sohawa. According to him, 300 Rangers personnel were dispatched to Haripur to detain them. “The prime minister and the federal government are responsible for the deaths of innocent people and the endangerment of a chief minister of a sensitive province,” he said.

Omar Ayub also accused the federal government of interfering in provincial matters, claiming that senior police officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were pressurised not to register cases against the Islamabad IGP. He alleged that the Islamabad IGP was involved in the abduction of employees and vehicles from Haripur, who were later detained at a police station in Islamabad.