By Amanullah Kasi
QUETTA, April 7: After taking oath on Monday, members of the Balochistan assembly unanimously demanded that the federal government should approach the United Nations to investigate the killings of Benazir Bhutto, Nawab Akbar Bugti and Nawabzada Balaach Marri.
Sadiq Umrani of the Pakistan People’s Party moved two joint resolutions seeking UN investigation, condemning the killing of Akbar Bugti and Balaach Marri and demanding formation of a judicial commission to probe into the incidents.
Speaker Jamal Shah Kakar administered the oath to 62 MPAs. For the first time in the history of the assembly, the oath was administered in Balochi and Pushto languages to members belonging to the Balochistan National Party-A and the Awami National Party, respectively.
Another resolution tabled by Sardar Aslam Bizenjo said hundreds of innocent people, including Akbar Bugti and Balaach Marri, were eliminated during a military operation, the body of the Jamhoori Watan Party chief was not handed over to heirs, thousands of families were displaced, thousands of political workers, including former chief minister Sardar Akhtar Mengal, were implicated in false cases and detained and some of them were tortured in custody by intelligence agencies.
It demanded that the military operation should be stopped and all political activists, including Akhtar Mengal, should be released, displaced people should be rehabilitated and Akbar Bugti’s body should be handed over to his heirs for burial in accordance with Baloch customs and religious values.
A resolution moved by Sardar Sanaullah Zehri of the National Party Parliamentarian and Zamarak Khan Piralizai of the ANP demanded restoration of the Levies system. They said the Levies system had been established in accordance with tribal traditions to maintain law and order but the previous government had merged it with police.
Abdul Khaliq Basharyar of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Ideological) moved a resolution condemning publication of blasphemous caricatures in the Netherlands and demanded expulsion of its ambassador from the country and boycott of Dutch products.
Earlier, pandemonium broke out in the house when the speaker allowed members to take oath in their mother tongue instead of Urdu and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal walked out in protest.
MMA’s parliamentary leader Maulana Wasay said a wrong precedent had been set by administering oath in Balochi and Pushto languages. This, he said, would create hatred between the major ethnic groups in the province. He said the move would affect the policy of national reconciliation.
However, the MMA members ended their protest and Nawab Aslam Raisani and Aslam Bizenjo persuaded them to return to the house.
Asad Baloch of the BNP-A and Zamarak Piralizai of the ANP had demanded to be administered the oath in Balochi and Pushto languages and said that PPP’s members of the Sindh assembly had taken oath in Sindhi.
The speaker refused to allow the sole member of the Hazara community, Jan Ali Chengazi, to take oath in Persian because he had taken the oath in Urdu along with other members. Mr Chengazi staged a walkout but returned at the request of Aslam Raisani.
Police brought Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q to the house amid tight security because of his relations with Aslam Raisani who went to the chief minister’s chamber for a few minutes during which Sardar Rind took the oath and left.
He house offered Fateha for Benazir Bhutto, Akbar Bugti, Balaach Marri, Sarwar Khan Kakar and Prof Mohammad Ali Kakar.
The PPP members in the house raised slogans in favour of their leaders. Activists of the party gathered outside the assembly’s gate but they were not allowed into the building.
The session was adjourned till Tuesday.
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