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ISLAMABAD - The lawmakers in the upper house of the Parliament Friday sought former ISI chief Hameed’s Gul trial under high treason charges, taking strong exception to his recent interview in which he had proposed suspension of the Constitution and the military takeover.

A lawmaker also requested the house that it should pass a resolution condemning his remarks against the democratic setup, but the request was turned down by Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, saying that person should not be given much importance.

Senator Muhammad Usman Kakar, the parliamentary leader of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) in the Senate, on a point of order, raised this issue and recommended strict action against Lt-General (r) Hameed Gul.

“In his interview published in a daily, Hameed Gul asked for the suspension of the Constitution and invited the army to hold reins of power in the country,” Kakar said. He also quoted the former ISI chief saying that there was no need of political parties in the presence of the Objectives Resolution passed in 1949.

Usman Kakar said everyone knew the past of Hameed Gul as he had been supervising terrorists in the past and supporting terrorism openly. He deplored he was never summoned by any court of law for passing such remarks. “I ask the political parties to demand Hamid Gul’s trial for high treason under Article 6 of the Constitution. “A person promotes terrorism in the country and some groups introduce him at a special time under specific circumstances,” he said. Kakar also requested the house to pass the resolution in this regard. However, Chairman Raza Rabbani opposed the idea of the adoption of a resolution against Hameed Gul and said, “Don’t give so much importance to that person.” Rabbani said sometimes freedom of expression or freedom of speech was misused in Pakistan. Freedom of speech should not be a licence for any person. Pakistan, its constitution and democracy are being targeted for some time, and this is an attempt to derail democracy,” he said but added discussion was improper.

Farhatullah Babar of PPP said this former ISI DG, during the last more than 10 years, had the intention to get popularity. “We should totally ignore him,” he further said. Babar stressed the discussion about him would harm the prestige of the Parliament.

Saeed Ghani, parliamentary leader of PPP in the Senate, said the government should take action against this person, but added his statement had no relevance to the present democratic or military setup.

Senator Saif Ali of MQM said they should not take his statement seriously, adding the media should itself follow some rules and code of conduct. He lamented a serving military officer was holding press conferences while in uniform these days.

On an adjournment motion, Azam Khan Musakhel pointed out that senior officers of grade 21 and 22 not belonging to Balochistan were posted in the province. He regretted these officers never showed any interest in solving the problems of the province. He said there were efficient officers in Sindh and Balochistan and they should be appointed in their home provinces.

Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Riaz Pirzada said that under a policy an officer of federal civil service has to be posted outside his home province for a specific period. However, the provinces themselves choose their respective IGPs from a list of three officers forwarded by the federal government. He said the number of officers of grade 21 and above hailing from Sindh and Balochistan was low.

The Senate chairman remarked that motion could not be held in order as he had already taken up this issue. “This is true that officers having domicile of Sindh and Balochistan are not appointed in their home provinces. The officers of the federal government are not representatives of these provinces,” he said. He also told the house that here was only one federal secretary from Sindh and Balochistan

The house continued its debate on the annual budget 2015-16 till it was adjourned till Monday.