Major opposition parties staged walkouts separately from National Assembly proceedings on issues, including disappearance of PPP members and blocking of CNICs of Pashtuns. All major opposition parties – the PPP, the PTI, the MQM and the Jamaat-e-Islami – raised strong reservations over various issues and walked out of the house in protest with intervals. Except for the MQM, the rest of them did not return.The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) also threatened to boycott the NA proceedings till the government assured them of presenting their missing party members before a court.Opposition Leader in NA Syed Khursheed Shah asked the federal government to play its role for producing PPP missing members before the court of law.Shah said it was not only a matter of missing persons of his party but the PPP would stand with other parties’ too which are facing similar problems.The PPP has always fought for the supremacy of the parliament, he said, its struggle for continuation of democratic system would continue.
Shah also supported the MQM on the issue of their missing members and raised the issue of blocking of CNICs of Pashtun nationals. Minister of State for Interior Baleeghur Rehman responding to the opposition parties said that the Sindh Rangers had informed them that the two of the PPP’s missing persons were not picked up by them.About another member of PPP who went missing from Islamabad, Rehman said that an FIR had been registered. The ICT police have been directed for his early recovery, he added.About the blocked CNICs, the minister said that the ministry had issued notification to the Nadra to incorporate recommendations of the parliamentary committee constituted on the matter.The PTI also made a failed attempt to suspend the house citing lack of quorum. PTI’s Lal Chand pointed out quorum but the house was found in order.As far as the issue of CNICs of Pashtuns being blocked is concerned, there has been no satisfying answer as to why this sort of ethnic bias is being tolerated. The Interior Ministry has issued a denial, but reports of police having instructions to keep an eye on people with Pashtun dresses and food habits and cases of police harassment keep making headlines. The Senate was also recently told that well over 300,000 CNICs have been blocked; of these, 175,000 are awaiting verification by the intelligence agencies and another 52,000 are still to be cleared by NADRA and the numbers do seem to be biased towards Pashtuns, even if unintentionally as the Interior Ministry would have us believe. On the government’s part, there is a general lack of information, and opposition parties are completely justified in wanting to be kept in the loop with important issues that may directly concern them. The government’s silence is only exacerbating the problem. The government should talk to the opposition parties and resolve their reservations on different issues so that further escalation in the situation could be avoided.
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