ZULFIQAR AHMAD

ISLAMABAD: The two major opposition political parties – Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Thursday demanded the Prime Minister to seek resignation from Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan for his failure to pre-empt major terror attacks in the country.

Chaudhry Nisar had informed Senate a day ago that the provinces were intimated in advance about possible terrorists’ attacks on Army Public School in Peshawar, Karachi airport, Bacha Khan University, Mardan and Quetta attacks.

Senator Taj Haider, the parliamentary leader of PPP, took the plea that the Interior Minister had no right to continue after accepting the failure of the government to foil the terror attacks despite intelligence reports months before the incidents took place.

“The Interior Minister went to the extent in saying that the ministry had even identified the gate through which the terrorists will storm Karachi airport, but even then the law enforcing agencies failed top prevent the attack, so whose failure is this,” he questioned.

He questioned that if the provincial government failed to fulfill their responsibility, than why the federal government is reluctant to pull them up, adding this is sheer negligence and incompetence on part of the Interior Ministry.

“Just blaming the provinces is not enough, why don’t you pull them up, if there is a big security lapse, and preventive measure is taken despite all intelligence reports about all the terrors attacks 2-3 months before the incidents,” he added.

He continued that the intelligence agencies are doing commendable job, and action even at a low level could have been enough to avoid these terror incidents that claimed hundreds of lives, adding, “If nothing has been done to prevent the attacks even unintentionally, it is criminal negligence”.

The PPP senator also took exception over the Interior Minister’s inability to visit Balochistan despite passage of a month after the Quetta bomb blast, which according to him, is enough for the Prime Minister to seek resignation from him, as he does not seem serious about his job as Minister of Interior.

He was also sceptical that some elements within the Interior Ministry must not be interested to prevent the terrorist attacks despite having intelligence reports in advance, adding the ‘need of the hour is that those elements must be exposed’.

He also called upon the acting President Mian Raza Rabbani to take notice of the Interior Minister’s statements in which he accepted of having intelligence reports in advance about all the major terrors attacks, but failed to fix responsibility on those who failed to prevent the attacks.

“We want the Prime Minister to identify the elements who intentionally don’t take action against the terrorists despite all the intelligence information,” he maintained.

Col Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi (retd) of MQM seconded the PPP senator, saying the government must fix responsibility against those officials in the provinces who failed to foil the terror attacks despite intelligence reports.

Speaking on calling attention notice moved by Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi Col (retd) about drug price hike, state minister for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar said that there is no shortage of any kind of medicine in the country.

She said the prices have been increased due to improved quality of the medicines and according to the Consumer Price Index, while stay order obtained by some pharmaceutical companies has led to 200 percent increase in drug prices.

She said that the Drug Registration Board has registered 70000 medicines, of which 4000-50000 are available in the market, adding the government, for the first time, has given drug pricing policy, which will help in regulating the prices after the stay orders are vacated.

Speaking on a point of public importance, Senator Taj Haider of PPP accused the federal government of opposing the land reforms. He said that Sindh provincial government is not against the land reforms as it has submitted its comments to Supreme Court within seven days.

He said that the federal is yet to submit its comments before the apex court despite passage of three years, as it wants to bring the issue to the Council of Common Interest (CCI), which shows that it is not serious about the land reforms.

Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid laid a copy of the money bill, The Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016, in the House. He also laid a report on 1st biannual monitoring on implementation of National Finance Commission (NFC) Award (July-December, 204) in the House.