Minister Pirzada walks out from NA over 'fake' IB memo
The memo claimed links between parliamentarians including Riaz Pirzada and proscribed organization
October 05, 2017
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada along with a few other legislators on Thursday staged a walkout of the National Assembly over reports of an alleged Intelligence Bureau (IB) memo linking parliamentarians to proscribed organisations.
A list in the 'fabricated' memo, which the spy agency has denied authoring, named a number of key ministers, including Riaz Pirzada, Zahid Hamid, Baleeghur Rehman, Sikandar Bosan, Hafiz Abdul Kareem and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi.
Pirzada in his speech said that he is from a respectable family, and holds the honor of his ancestors, asking why he was given charge of a ministry if he was in contact with proscribed organisations.
“I don’t believe in IB. I am not a child, I have been in politics for more than 50 years,” he said.
"The Prime Minister house should have immediately ordered an inquiry after receiving the report. If I am a terrorist, why I am a minister?"
He demanded that Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Finance Minister clarify whether the inquiry was initiated by PM House or not.
Interrupting the minister’s speech, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq told Pirzada that while he was on a visit to Iraq, the Intelligence Bureau had filed a complaint to PEMRA that it the purported document was fake.
“Come to my chamber tomorrow. I will call DG IB. This is a sub-judice matter,” the speaker directed Pirzada.
Earlier, the federal government took notice of the memo and announced that it would file a case in Islamabad's Secretariat police station.
The government also advised Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to take strict action against apparently mala fide reporting.
The IB has also issued a formal denial of any such report or list.
“Intelligence Bureau, premier national intelligence agency, is fully committed to safeguarding national interest and security of the country. Its officers/officials are working round the clock throughout the length and breadth of the country, facing all kinds of risks emerging in the line of duty,” a senior IB official had said on Sept 27, responding to a TV programme which alleged the agency had prepared a report regarding links of 37 parliamentarians with defunct sectarian and militant organizations.
The spy agency said no such report was prepared by the IB and thus the story was false, baseless, and unfounded.
