 |
|
|
|
Heated debate in City Council over influx of IDPs
By Latif Baloch Council members claimed that caravans of 40 to 50 persons entered Karachi everyday but the government had not taken any steps to register IDPs at all entry points to the city. – APP photo of Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil convening the City Council session. KARACHI: The City Council on Tuesday expressed its concern over the plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Swat who have been forced to migrate to Karachi and other parts of the country as a result of the ongoing military operation in Malakand Division. Expressing its solidarity with them, the house unanimously adopted a resolution and expressed its sympathies with the affected people.The resolution urged the city district government to provide one-day honorarium of the council members to the fund for Swat’s displaced persons. A heated debate took place in the house when the resolution was tabled and convener Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil sought the members’ views on the issue.Both the treasury as well as opposition members were unanimously of the view that the country was passing through a ‘critical situation as a result of the army action against militant elements.’ They called upon the people to extend their support for the government’s efforts in overcoming the ‘volatile situation.’ The treasury benches urged the government to take urgent measures for the registration of IDPs who have entered the city, as they feared ‘undesirable militant elements’ in the guise of IDPs might enter the city for ‘sabotage purposes’. Taking the floor, leader of the house Asif Siddiqui said the issue was not related to any group, sect and party, adding ‘we must all, irrespective of party affiliation, join hands to counter the challenges.’Siddiqui said that his party fully sympathised with the affected families and urged the government to take all possible measures for their relief. He went on to say that the situation was ‘fraught with great dangers’ as it was ‘linked with the solidarity of the country.’Earlier, treasury member Abdul Jalil told the house that 21,000 IDPs entered the city and settled in different parts of the city, including Keamari, Banaras and Sohrab Goth, and they had not been registered so far. Jalil claimed that caravans of 40 to 50 persons entered the city everyday. He said that the government had made a commitment to register IDPs at all entry points to the city, but so far no steps to this effect had been taken.Treasury leader Suleman Mujahid maintained that he was surprised to see that ‘IDPs from Swat, instead of taking refuge in Peshawar, are coming to Karachi.’ Treasury leaders Masood Mehmood, Arshad Qureshi, Imran Ahmed and several others also supported the contentions of Siddiqui.Uproar was witnessed when emotionally charged opposition member Fazl-ur-Rehman announced in the house that ‘we would provide all assistance to the IDPs, including shelter and other material goods, as they are our brothers. [We will do it] as we did in 1947 for the refugees from India.’ His remarks created pandemonium in the house for some time as treasury members started thumping their desks and also shouted slogans such as ‘ghunda gardi nai chaligee.’ The opposition members also countered them with slogans. However, the convener intervened and urged both sides to calm down and listen to each other. Later, several members took part in the debate, and condemned terrorism and land-grabbing in the city. They included Abdul Razak, Syed Sajid, Kishwar Zaman, Shamim Waseih, Javed Jadoon and others. Taking the floor, opposition leader Juman Darwan emphasised the need for unity and peace at this ‘critical stage of the country’s history’, saying that ‘his party had always struggled for the democratic rights of people and was against extremism and obscurantism.’ Dawn: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009 |
