Taseer’s assassination

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Wednesday unanimously expressed shock and sorrow over the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and expressed sympathy with members of the bereaved family.

The resolution also prayed for the safety of Pakistan. Saqibullah Khan Chamkani of the Awami National Party (ANP) moved the jointly drafted resolution for which Acting Speaker Khushdil Khan relaxed the rules with the consent of the House.

The resolution carrying signatures of both the senior ministers Rahimdad Khan of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Bashir Ahmad Bilour of ANP, Saqibullah Chamkani, Adviser to Chief Minister Mukhtiar Khan, Minister for Housing Amjad Afridi, PPP parliamentary leader Abdul Akbar Khan, minority MPA Asif Bhatti and Atifur Rehman Khalil of the ANP prayed to Allah to give courage to the family of the Punjab governor to bear the irreparable loss.

Earlier, Rahimdad Khan condemned the assassination and reiterated his party’s commitment to continuing struggle against those bent on pushing the country back. He said such killings would not stop them from their mission for which the people had voted them to power. He recalled that their leaders and workers had been martyred in the past but they could neither be pressured nor deterred from their mission.

Bashir Bilour condemned Taseer’s assassination, saying they had been following the policy of non-violence and were of the view that no problem could be solved with bullet. Terming Taseer a great politician, he said all Pakhtuns were equally shocked like his family. He said the terrorists had taken lives of 450 of his party leaders and workers but it could not stop them from their mission. He said his party condemned extremism.

“We should not take any action that hurts the feeling of others. We condemn the killing of human beings and stand by those struggling for the rule of law, independence of judiciary and media and people’s rights,” he stressed.

Bilour said the country could not make progress by keeping itself aloof from the rest of the world. The world, he said, would neither give them aid nor hold negotiations with them if the prevailing wave of extremism continued. He said the country could not afford midterm elections in these circumstances. He suggested that the government should be allowed to complete its five-year term. He said when the situation was good, everyone was supporting the government but some of the allies left it when it was facing a difficult situation.

“After the resignation of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) from the federal government, some people asked us as to when the ANP would quit the government. We are Pakhtuns and will stand by the PPP-led government,” he said, adding that the political parties should not derail the democratic system.

Minister for Elementary Education Sardar Hussain Babak termed Taseer’s assassination a tragedy and said it had given the world a very wrong message. “It is unfortunate that on the one hand the governor was shot dead while on the other religious fanatics distributed sweets. The extremists are using the name of religion to create disturbance in the country,” he said, adding that the ANP had rendered great sacrifices in the past and would do so in future till the elimination of terrorism and establishment of peace.

JUI-F lawmaker Mufti Janan condemned Taseer’s assassination and warned that such incidents would endanger the solidarity of the country. He also asked the lawmakers not to give religious touch to each and every incident. He said the killer was not from any seminary or mosque but had studied at a government school and later got a job in the police. He condemned those distribution sweets to celebrate the assassination and said such people wanted to defame Islam.

Saqibullah Chamkani of the ANP supported Mufti Janan, saying some people wanted to defame Islam by using the name of the religion.