August 19 will always be remembered as a dark day in the country’s history, Speaker National Assembly
Sardar Ayaz Sadiq
ISLAMABAD, (Asghar Ali Mubarak):
The Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has said that August 19, 2014 will be remembered as a dark day in the country’s history. The workers of two so-called political parties ransacked and damaged valuable installations. He said that this shameful incident should be condemned no matter how much. The Speaker said that the parliament is the highest institution of the state, the representative of the people’s aspirations, its respect and protection is the common responsibility of all of us. He said that no one can be allowed to violate the sanctity of the Parliament. He expressed these views in his message on the completion of 10 years of the attack on the Parliament by the leadership of the so-called political parties and activists.
Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that no democratic minded person can imagine violating the sanctity of Parliament. He said that the painful memories of the siege of the Parliament building on August 19, 2014 and the subsequent shameful and tragic attack will always remain in the minds of the people and remind them of the attack on democratic values and principles.
He said that the attack on the parliament was not only an attack on democracy but also a blow to the basic pillars of the state. The speaker praised the bravery and perseverance of all the members, staff and security personnel who defended the parliament under difficult circumstances.
And upheld the rule of law. The speaker also appreciated the role of the leadership and members of the then government, Pakistan People’s Party, the largest opposition party in the parliament, and other political parties, who fought against the attacks on the parliament by the so-called political parties and the killing of democracy.
He said that in August 2014, there was an attack on the parliament and an unsuccessful attempt was made to block the way of the members of parliament coming to the house and to paralyze the system of the parliament, but the members bravely foiled this nefarious plot. He said that the sit-ins of 2014 damaged Pakistan’s image worldwide.
He said that the country’s economy suffered a loss of billions of rupees due to the sit-ins of August 2014. He said that because of sit-ins outside the Parliament, the President of China had to cancel his scheduled visit during which he was supposed to sign deals worth billions of dollars with Pakistan.
He further said that such attacks cannot weaken the democratic system, rather they strengthen our resolve and the strength of democratic institutions. The Speaker asked the people to remain united and play their key role for the protection of democratic values and strengthening of parliamentary institutions.
The Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah also said in his message on the occasion that the attack on Parliament during the 2014 sit-ins was a sad incident. He said that this attack clarified the objectives of these political sit-ins which were tantamount to weakening the democratic institutions and democratic system. The Deputy Speaker emphasized the need for all democratic political parties to take necessary measures to prevent such incidents in the future so that such anti-democratic incidents do not happen again.
He said that Pakistan People’s Party has never sought power through non-democratic means. He said that on August 19, 2014, rogue groups attacked democracy and parliament in the guise of democracy and sabotaged democracy. An unsuccessful attempt was made against which the then government and the opposition parties played a strong role.
