Karachi, Quetta law & order: National Assembly panel calls for ministry briefing on September 30

A parliamentary panel probing recent target killings in Karachi and poor law and order situation in Balochistan on Tuesday directed the interior ministry to give a detailed briefing to the committee on September 30. The parliamentary committee was constituted by Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza last month in line with a motion adopted after a debate on the law and order situation, with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan in the chair.
Talking to Business Recorder, a member of the committee said that after receiving a briefing from the interior ministry, the intelligence agencies, provincial governments and political parties working in region, will be called to brief the committee. He said that Corps Commanders Karachi and Quetta will also brief the parliamentary panel, and apprise the members about the factual position of affected areas due to worsening law and order situation.
In the next step, he added, the NA body will invite people from different walks of life including lawyers, civil society representatives etc, seeking their suggestions to improve the situation in Karachi and Balochistan. The committee will ask common people, who are most vulnerable people in society, to give their suggestions how to bring peace in restive Quetta and Karachi.
The committee, which will submit its report within two months, will also visit Karachi, badly affected due to target killings and Balochistan, which is in the midst of a full fledged violent confrontation. The committee has made clear that it will not hold talks with anti-state elements and strongly recommend the government to take strict action against people who are challenging the country's sovereignty.
Ayat Ullah Durrani, who represents Balochistan, told the committee that talks with Baloch Sardars would be like an exercise in futility, as the parliament means nothing to them. He said Sardars who are trying to deceive Baloch people with rhetoric alone will sooner or later be exposed.