Debate sought on French ambassador’s expulsion
ISLAMABAD: The government’s move to form a special parliamentary commitee on the issue of French envoy’s expulsion from Pakistan seems to have fizzled out as the opposition parties have rejected the idea and called for a full-fledged debate in the National Assembly ( NA) on the Namoos-e-risalat (sanctity of the Holy Prophet Mohammad PBUH) issue.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) opposed the idea ater the Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-islam (JUI-F) had done so.
“We do not support formation of any special commitee and believe that the debate on the issue must be held in the National Assembly ater converting it into a commitee of the whole house,” PPP secretary general Farhatullah Khan Babar said.
He said the party leaders ater deliberating on the mater had decided to support the stance taken by other opposition parties, including the PML-N and the JUI-F, that there was no need for the formation of any special commitee and every member should be allowed to speak on the mater which was sensitive in nature.
The PPP, which had recently parted ways with the 10-party opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement ( PDM), had boycoted the National Assembly’s siting on April 20 when the government through its MP from Mianwali Amjid Ali Khan had managed to present a private resolution in the house, seeking a debate on the issue of the French ambassador’s expulsion from the country over the publication of blasphemous caricatures in his country.
Soon ater the presentation of the resolution by the mover, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan had moved a motion authorising Speaker Asad Qaiser to constitute a specialcommiteeofthehousecomprisingmembers of all parties in proportion to their strength in the assembly for further deliberations on the resolution.
The speaker, however, had not put the resolution for a vote ater the PML-N and JUI-F members lodged a strong protest over the government’s move to bring it to the house without prior consultation with them and demanded a full-fledged debate on the issue of Namoos-e-risalat.