ISLAMABAD: The Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, severely criticised the government on Wednesday for the recent hijacking of the Jaffar Express in Balochistan, terming it as a “gross failure” of the country’s intelligence agencies.
Speaking in National Assembly, he regretted that the law enforcers and intelligence agencies get mobilised within no time when even a small group of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members gather, but they were unable to identify the presence of hundreds of terrorists in Balochistan.
“I would like to say that this is a gross failure of the intelligence agencies, but we are against and condemn the elements who have taken up arms against the state,” he added.
He vehemently denounced the incident and bemoaned the lack of urgency in resolving the situation, expressing frustration that the government, which he called a “fake regime,” went about its daily operations while Balochistan was in chaos.
He also lambasted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his “lack of action” against those who call the shots in the country, adding that those in charge of the country have miserably failed to thwart the terrorist incident.
He insisted that strict action should be taken for the carelessness and security breach and underlined that the prime minister, in his capacity as the chief executive of the country, should hold those accountable for the security lapses that resulted in the Balochistan incident.
He demanded answers about the security lapses and questioned who is in charge of border security, adding, “those who were supposed to do their jobs should be questioned for such a huge tragedy.”
Notably, Ayub’s microphone was turned off on several occasions during his speech whenever he mentioned the Jaffar Express hijacking incident and Balochistan, which sparked protests from PTI members.
However, his voice was continuously muted on television screens, even though Abdul Qadir Patel of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who was presiding over the session, later permitted him to continue speaking on the issue.
Ayub insisted that the only way to address the issues confronting the country is to respect the will of the people.
“The structure of this parliament is incomplete, and it is a sham,” he said, and questioned, “Why hasn’t the PTI been granted the seats reserved for women despite the Supreme Court’s decision.”
Ayub said that it would have been more appropriate if the chair had permitted a debate specifically on the Balochistan issue by suspending the regular business of the house, as the house began debating the president of Pakistan’s speech to the joint sitting of parliament.
This is pertinent to note that the house initiated the debate on the President’s address to the joint sitting of parliament, despite the recent Balochistan massacre where hundreds of innocent people were killed by terrorists after hijacking the train.
In the past, the house had a precedent of suspending the agenda in the event of such gruesome incidents in the country. However, this time, the house chose to continue with its regular business.
Government ministers, especially the Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his deputy Talal Chaudhry, also conspicuously remained absent from the house.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.