Islamabad:
The president of the Popular Party of Pakistan, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, suggested on Wednesday to the government that introduces the second phase of the National Action Plan (NAP) to counteract the threat in evolution of terrorism.
“We supported the nap, we fight against terrorism in the four provinces and declared that we had broken the terrorist’s back, said the president of the PPP while talking on the floor of the National Assembly.
Previously, the president of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, suspended on Thursday the routine business of the Chamber and initiated a debate about the recent terrorist attack against the Japhafar Express. The motion to suspend the agenda was transferred by the Federal Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, which was approved by the Chamber.
The National Assembly also offered Fateha for the souls of martyred security personnel and others during the attack on Jaffar Express.
Bilalwal said: “Today, we are going through an even more dangerous phase than before. Unlike the past, we lack unity and political consensus that made us successful.”
“The enemies of Pakistan and his oppressed people are taking advantage of our lack of unity,” he added
Referring to recent attacks, Bilawal said: “These terrorists have no ideology. His only objective is to destabilize Pakistan and attack innocent citizens.”
The president of the PPP requested the national unity and political consensus to effectively combat terrorism in the country.
He said that Pakistan paid a great price in his fight against terrorism, with sacrifices made for each segment of society, political leadership, common citizens, military officers and police personnel.
“There is no section of society that has not made sacrifices in this fight,” he said. He remembered the unity chamber demonstrated by the Nation following the Peshawar tragedy of the Public Army School (PHC) 2014. “Despite our political differences, whether the policy of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) or other parties, we put aside our agendas to prioritize national interest,” he said.
Content strongly condemning recent terrorist attacks, particularly in Baluchistan, he said that perpetrators sought to destabilize Pakistan and derail their development.
“These terrorists, who claim to fight for rights and independence, are actually obstructing the development of the country and play in the hands of international forces committed to destruction,” he said.
Bilawal questioned the reasons behind the attacks against innocent civilians, citing the recent tragedy that involves passengers in the Jaffar Express.
By asking all political parties to put aside their differences, Bilawal proposed a single point agenda to defeat terrorism. He emphasized the need for collaboration among all interested parties, offering the cooperation of his party.
“If there are deficiencies in our provincial governments or leadership, tell us, we are ready to join hands and fight against this threat,” he added.
“We did it before when Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister, and we can do it again under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.”
Bilawal requested the review of the National Action Plan (NAP). “There is no reason why Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif cannot restart a National Integral Action Plan, as we did in the past,” he said.
“The mere meetings are not enough. We need decisive action, unity and consensus, as we demonstrate when the PPP was in power.”
When the session began, the government and the opposition exchanged spikes for the tragedy of the train in Baluchistan, with both sides of the hall blaming each other for the terrorist attack that resulted in more than two dozen deaths.
However, in a rare sample of unity, the National Assembly unanimously approved a resolution condemning the kidnapping of Jaffer Express.
Taking the floor, the Minister of Defense, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, criticized the false narrative of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) in the terrorist attack of Jaffar Express, accusing the social networks platforms of the party to misrepresent the tragic incident and undermine the national unity. The minister expressed a deep sadness for the loss of innocent lives in the attack, emphasizing that such tragedies cause immense pain, which is even more aggravated by the spread of erroneous information.
“The whole nation witnessed how PTI’s social networks interpreted the incident,” said Khawaja Asif. “Instead of recognizing the courage and sacrifice of our armed forces, they promoted a false narrative, claiming that the terrorists themselves freed the hostages.” He claimed that this deceptive account was distributed by verified accounts affiliated with PTI, particularly those operated by supporters who live abroad. Without appointing people, Khawaja Asif criticized those who, according to him, fled the country but continued to evil national institutions from abroad.
Asif also highlighted the irony of PTI leaders, many of whom, according to him, were past martial law regimes.
“Some of those fingers pointing today were the beneficiaries of three martial laws in our history,” he added. “His ancestors annulled the Constitution and deprived the nation of their democratic rights.”
Asif admitted that his party had supported a military regime in the past. “I apologized for it several times in this same house, and I do it again today. But at least we have the decency to recognize our past mistakes,” he said.
He emphasized the need for political leaders to recognize and collectively learn from historical errors for the nation to advance.
PTI Mna Asad Qaiser condemned the train tragedy, added that the Minister of Defense level the accusations about PTI instead of taking the house with confidence.
In a Tit-For-OT response to Asif, the former speaker said he is obsessed with PTI while pronouncing PTI during his speech rather than Baluchistan. If there had been a little shame in him, he would have renounced his position, he said Qaiser. Contenting the trinus kidnapping incident, the PTI leader asked how the country will work if people with public mandate are confined in prisons and those with a false mandate feel in the house. The biggest problem in the country is security and everything is happening due to Asif’s incompetence, said the PTI leader.
MQM MNA DR Farooq Sattar said it is necessary to review the National Action Plan. He urged the Prime Minister to convene APC in the tragedy of Jaffar Express to determine the national agenda. He asked political parties to evolve a consensus strategy to deal with the threat of terrorism.
