ISLAMABAD (DNA) : The House today unanimously passed a resolution condemning the attacks and manhandling of journalists by the participants of sit-ins.
The resolution moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Aftab Ahmed Sheikh said freedom of expression is a fundamental democratic right and all the people including political workers should accord respect to it.
The house called upon the government to take notice of violent acts against the journalists and take action against those responsible. Later, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs called upon the PTI and PAT to call off their sit-ins for the sake of the country.
Raja Javed Ikhlas said every patriotic Pakistani is concerned of the present political and economic circumstances. He said the PML (N) has open heartedly accepted the mandate given by the people to different parties.
He said PML (N) could form a government along with its allies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but the Prime Minister made a principled decision and allowed PTI to form its own government in the province. He said a parliamentary committee has been constituted for electoral reforms which is a good sign.
Sahibzada Tariqullah appreciated the government for demonstrating generous attitude towards the protesters and not taking any action against them. He suggested to the Prime Minister to consult his party members to resolve the issue.
Responding to a point raised by Ghazi Ghulab Jamal regarding alleged storming of House of Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Multan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Pervez Rashid said the Punjab government has taken a notice of the incident and an FIR has been registered. He said action will be taken against the responsible according to the law. He said it is not the culture of the PML (N) to take law into their own hands.
The Minister informed the House that the journalists staged a token walkout to register their protest that their vehicles are not being allowed to parked in the national assembly parking. The chair asked the deputy Speaker to look into the matter and resolve it. The house will now meet on Monday at 5 p.m.
