ISLAMABAD, Aug 04 2005: Opposition members in the Senate have decided to submit an adjournment motion and a call attention notice to discuss the incident of alleged gangrape of a woman by security personnel in Azad Kashmir.

Parliamentary secretary of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Izhar Amrohvi told Dawn that the call attention notice on the incident was being submitted by People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Khan Babar through which he had drawn the attention of Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao towards the incident.

Similarly, he said, seven opposition senators had signed an adjournment motion under Rule 78 of the Rules and Procedure for Conduct of Business in the Senate 1988 in which they had expressed their concern on the alleged involvement of the security personnel in the incident.

The opposition senators, in their motion, state that “a responsible state functionary has admitted that the incident is being investigated.” The motion says the statement of the state functionary that no FIR has been registered by the family raises the question whether the family is being pressurized. Thirdly and most importantly, it says “the involvement of security personnel in the alleged incident lends a new, serious and dark dimension to the incidents of gangrape that are already on the rise in Pakistan.”

The opposition senators state that being an important public matter, it needs a discussion on the floor of the house adjourning the normal proceedings of the house. The motion has been signed by Opposition Leader in the Senate Raza Rabbani, PPP senators Farhatullah Khan Babar and Dr Safdar Abbasi, Balochistan National Party (BNP) Senator Sanaullah Baloch, Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Asfandyar Wali, Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) Senator Dr Amanullah Kanrani and PML-N Senator Ishaq Dar. Mr Amrohvi said the motion and the notice were expected to be submitted to the Senate secretariat on Thursday (August 4).

Source: Dawn

Date:8/4/2005