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NWFP PA debates Swat situation

* Minister, MPAs say they cannot go to their constituencies for fear of attacks

By Zakir Hassnain

PESHAWAR: The situation in Swat has deteriorated to a point where no one is safe, and the government has lost its writ in the troubled areas, ministers and members of the provincial assembly belonging to the Awami National Party (ANP) said in the NWFP Assembly on Friday.

ANP MPAs from Swat, Shamsher Ali Khan, Jaffer Shah and Sher Shah walked out of the House when Acting Speaker Khushdil Khan did not allow a debate on the law and order situation in Swat, which they said was “burning and alarming”. Several other MPAs from the party joined them, but later they returned upon the insistence of several ministers and MPAs.

Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said Swat was bleeding and had become hell. He said the terrorists were targeting ANP leaders and MPAs.

“Whether it is mosques, women and children or young and old, none of them is safe. The MPAs cannot return home,” Hussain said.

The information minister asked all the political parties to get together and find a solution to the Swat problem. He said the situation had got out of the police’s hands. Hussain denied the Pakistan People’s Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s statement that the militants had the upper hand. “We don’t accept terrorism. How can they be more powerful than the army?” he asked.

Hussain said the government stood by the peace agreement it had signed with the Taliban in Swat. “Dialogue is our top priority and if someone does not accept it, the government will continue to react to the militants’ actions,” he warned.

ANP’s Saqib Chamkani demanded the court martial or suspension of the army commanders who stood a short distance away when MPA Waqar Ahmed Khan’s family members were shot dead.

Shamsher Ali Khan asked how could an ordinary person be safe if the government could not protect an elected member of the assembly. He said militants were targeting ANP leaders, assembly members and their families. He said the militants had the latest weapons including missiles and rocket launchers. “I cannot return to my house in Swat. The militants have listed their targets,” he said.

Return: Minister for Science and Technology Ayub Ashari said the government had lost its writ in Swat. “We cannot go to our constituencies for fear of being killed,” he said. Minister for Forests Wajid Ali Khan burst into tears while saying, “Swat is burning. Innocent people are being killed.”

He urged the political leaders to stop playing politics over dead bodies in Swat and “the future of our children”. Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s Zahir Shah said foreigners were involved in the unrest in Swat and were being supported by the locals.

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