ISLAMABAD: Members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday submitted an adjournment motion to the National Assembly Secretariat on the issue of Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s conviction by a court in the US.
The motion, submitted by six PML-N members, states: “the controversial conviction of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a highly-educated scientist, by a US court on trumped-up charges lacking any credibility has caused great anguish and resentment amongst the people of Pakistan and deserves to be condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
It says: “The circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Dr Afia Siddiqui and her children and her arrest, detention and subsequent transfer to the US require detailed investigation by the authorities concerned.
The government of Pakistan should bring the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and the plight of her family to the notice of the government of the United States and seek its intervention in this matter which clearly constitutes a serious violation of human rights.”
Meanwhile, the PML-N has also decided to lodge a strong protest over the recent increase in the prices of petroleum products in the forthcoming session of the National Assembly and Senate.
Some members of the party had already submitted an adjournment motion to the National Assembly Secretariat seeking a debate on the issue. The National Assembly is expected to start its next session from Monday.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had increased petroleum prices up to 9.37 per cent in line with rise in the international market. As a result of the increase, import prices, the profit margins of dealers and oil marketing companies have also increased by 11.5 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, while the rate of general sales tax being collected by the government has also increased by 9.5 per cent.
The decision to increase the prices of petroleum products has drawn huge criticism from all the opposition parties, traders, transporters and general public.
Prominent among those who have submitted these adjournment motions are Sheikh Aftab, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Dr Tariq Chaudhry, Rana Ishaq Khan, Shaheen Ishfaq, Akram Ansari and Bilal Yasin.
Source: Dawn
Date:2/7/2010
