Keep calm and...: PPP workers brawl during leader’s death anniversary

The situation reportedly spun out of control when some of the workers did not allow the party’s provincial president Khanzada Khan to deliver a speech on stage in Zubair Mir Hall. PHOTO: EXPRESS

PESHAWAR: With widening rifts in the top provincial leadership of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), its workers resorted to fighting and hurled chairs at each other during a ceremony to mark the seventh death anniversary of Syed Qamar Abbas at Peshawar Press Club (PPC) on Tuesday.

The situation reportedly spun out of control when some of the workers did not allow the party’s provincial president Khanzada Khan to deliver a speech on stage in Zubair Mir Hall.

Provincial Media Coordinator and Spokesperson for PPP President, Faheem Khattak told The Media that they will apprise the central leadership of the party, including former president Asif Ali Zardari and patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and ascertain the people involved in the incident.

“Activists of Peoples Student Federation were sent by former PPP women’s wing chairperson Asma Alamgir to sabotage the ceremony,” alleged Khattak.

He said footage of everything that happened on the press club premises is available and it is clear that the miscreants were not party activists, but were hired to create the clash. Khattak explained that Asif Zardari dissolved the party’s provincial and district organisations on April 29, after which Asma Alamgir raised grievances because the move was not acceptable to her.

When contacted, Alamgir vehemently denied all allegations, saying PPP is a democratic party and all leaders should give democratic statements. She added that a ‘conspiracy group’ has hijacked the party in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), because of which rifts have surfaced and resulted in such unfortunate developments.

“The viewpoints of PPP workers will have to be taken into consideration; that is the key to strengthening the party,” said Alamgir, appreciating the services of leaders like Qamar Abbas – former provincial minister and senior vice-president of PPP who was shot dead in 2007. She added that the grim situation has spelled a wave of frustration amongst workers.

Later, PPC’s cabinet held an emergency meeting with the club president Nasir Hussain in the chair, which condemned PPP for the scuffle.

While talking to the media, PPC General Secretary Fida Adeel said all activities of PPP have been banned in the press club, along with a ban on their entrance. Adeel added that they have footage of the clash and will take legal action against all those involved. Giving details of the loss, he said 20 chairs, four tables and a sound system in the hall were damaged.

“Journalists and employees of the press club were manhandled by PPP workers who warned them to not run the footage,” Adeel added.

On the other hand, former PPP president Anwar Saifullah Khan in a statement on Sunday lauded the party central leadership’s decision of dissolving the current provincial and district organisations, saying that new leadership would come to the forefront through the decision of an intra-party election.

Saifullah attributed the party’s prevailing issues to some office bearers who have long lost interest in PPP’s affairs. He added that the poor performance in last year’s general elections was also due to the many rifts that have surfaced within the party.

“Party workers on whom others can fully rely on should come to the front and unify PPP’s K-P organisation,” said Saifullah. He added that intra-party elections are not new for PPP workers and have been held since Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s time.

Published in GNN & Tribune, May 7th, 2014. (By Baseer Qalandar)

Reopening YouTube: NA resolutions have little impact, says Senator

A private member, who submits resolution in his personal capacity, has to give seven days’ notice and the resolution. PHOTO: APP/FILE

ISLAMABAD: Though a resolution calling for restoration of YouTube in the country was passed with unanimous vote in the National Assembly on Tuesday, some lawmakers believe this will not achieve anything on the ground.

“A resolution is not binding on the government,” said former law minister Senator S M Zafar while talking to Media.

Zafar added that resolutions do not have legal or constitutional value but they are important in the parliament since they are passed by elected representatives.

“Our track record is that resolutions are passed and then are thrown to dustbin.”

MNA Shazia Marri from the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had moved a resolution saying “This House is of the opinion that the Government should take steps to lift [the] ban on YouTube.”

As the subject was related to every member, there was no vote against it and was passed unanimously.

YouTube had been blocked on September 17, 2012 after a sacrilegious clip grew in prominence. The clip drew sharp reaction from much of the Muslim world. Pakistan along with Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sudan had blocked the site. While threats of blocking it forced YouTube to censor the video in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. It took a court order in Brazil to block the video.

Earlier, a Senate committee on Human Rights had also approved a similar resolution seeking removal of ban from the videos sharing website.

The record of the National Assembly resolution for lifting ban on YouTube was 47th. The first resolution was passed on 16 June 2013 that condemned terrorist attack that targeting of Quaid e Azam’s Residency in Ziarat.

How is a resolution introduced in the House
The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 2007 define the entire process for introducing resolutions into the house.

“A resolution should be in the form of a declaration of opinion or a recommendation, or convey a message, or command, urge or request action, or call attention to a matter or situation for consideration by the government, or in such other form as the Speaker may consider appropriate.”

There are guidelines about the content of a resolution too. “It shall not (a) contain arguments, inferences, ironical expressions or defamatory statements (b) refer to the conduct or character of a person except in his official and public capacity (c) raise discussion which is detrimental to public interest (d) contain reflection on a judge of the supreme court or a high court or any subordinate court or (e) relate to any matter which is pending before the court.”
A private member, who submits resolution in his personal capacity, has to give seven days’ notice and the resolution. After going through the scanners and set procedures, is presented before the house for approval.

Rule 169 reads as “(1)  ON the conclusion of the discussion, the speaker shall put the resolution or, as the case may be, the resolution amended, to the vote of the House and if Passed by the House, a copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Division concerned. (2) The Division concerned shall apprise the Assembly the action taken on the resolution within a period of six months from the date of communication by the Assembly Secretariat.”