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| India-Pakistan |
| KP Assembly session: Punjab govt accused of patronising extremists |
| 2013-03-13 |
| [Dawn] Minority member of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Assembly from Awami National Party Asif Bhatti on Monday accused the Punjab government of patronising religious bad turbans, who, he said, torched around 200 houses and shops of Christians in Lahore on Saturday. Speaking on a point of order in the House, the MPA said Christians had been subjected to violence in Punjab during the five years rule of Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz in the province, and recalled the Gojra, Shanti Nagar and Sangla Hill incidents. He said religious bully boyz torched houses and shops of Christians in Lahore without let or hindrance as coppers acted as silent spectators. "The Punjab government has not only failed to protect Christians but also patronises bad turban elements," he said demanding immediate resignation of the Shahbaz Sharif-led government. He said officers holding responsible positions in Punjab failed to take any action against perpetrators of violence against Christians. Mr Bhatti said Holy Prophet Mohammad always preached peace, love and tolerance and urged Moslems to take care of religious minorities, but some wanted to earn a bad name for Islam by subjecting minorities to violence. "More than 200 copies of the Bible have been burnt in Lahore. Tell me if those who burned copies of the holy book will ever be locked away Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! These people have forgotten the teachings of Holy Prophet Mohammad," he said. The MPA, who tied black armband to protest Lahore incident, said it was unfortunate that police were present on the occasion when mob attacked the houses of Christians. He said the Christian member of the then Punjab Assembly had voted for Pakistain and that Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had said there was no Moslem, no Christian and no Hindu and all were Paks, but some forces were out to divide the society on religious, ethic and linguistic lines to achieve their ulterior objectives. "There is no divide among the people," he said. Mr Bhatti later staged a walkout to register protest against the Lahore incident. Later responding to the point of order, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain condemned the Lahore incident and said some elements were trying to destabilise Pakistain by targeting religious minorities. He added that like Christians, Shias, Sunnis, the army, police and places of worship were also being targeted. The minister said the torching of an entire hamlet had never happened in a civilised world and that the people committed the heinous crime under the banner of Islam. Later, the House passed four bills, including The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Finance (Amendment) Bill, 2013, The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Workers' Compensation Bill, 2013, The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Maternity Benefits Bill, 2013 and The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Factories Bill, 2013. Also, three bills, including The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Arms Bill, 2013, The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Explosives Substances Bill, 2013 and The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) (Amendment) Bill, 2013 were introduced. Speaker Kiramatullah Khan Chagharmatti, who was in the chair, later adjourned the session until 4pm today (Tuesday). |
| Posted by:Fred |