Senator Saeed Ghani of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said the terrorists who killed some daily wager women, taking part in polio drive for a petty amount of Rs 1100, should be an example for others. "On the one hand we are playing with the lives of our children while on the other, our image is being tarnished across the globe," he flayed.
Senator Hasil Bazenjo said Pakistan would be singled out in the world if such incidents were not halted on war footing. "This is a very serious issue. Pakistan will become a threat to the world if failed in eradicating the disease," he added. Senator Kamil Ali Agha of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) came down hard on spy agencies, saying they should have forewarned the nation about such threats. "The political cell of the intelligence agencies has also been dismantled but even then they are unable to perform...we've been disgraced before the whole world," he lamented.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed of PML-Q said there existed no foolproof counter-terror strategy to cope with such incident, in which innocent lives were lost and that too of females. He also demanded of the government to compensate the martyred polio workers at par with soldiers of armed forces.
Babar Awan of PPP termed the incident a complete failure of the law enforcement agencies, saying why no arrests and investigations were taking place. "If all this is not possible, he added, at least a foot constable should have been forced to tender resignation." Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) came openly in decrying the terrorists involved in killing of female polio members. He said that religious political parties never opposed polio vaccination. "This is on record when MMA was in power in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Fazlur Rehman and Qazi hussain Ahmed themselves inaugurated the polio drives," he added.
Senator Shahi Syed of Awami National Party (ANP) expressed fear that if the terrorists involved in killing of the female polio workers were not punished, the image of the country will be further spoiled. "I'm afraid to say our expatriates may face more problems if such incidents which directly relates to future of children are not stopped," he warned.
BHAGAT SINGH CHOWK Senator Raza Rabbani of PPP drew the attention of PML-N Senator Pervez Rashid, who is also spokesman Punjab government to rename the Shadman Chowk after Baghat Singh - a pre-independence Indian freedom fighter. Rabbani said there is great public demand to rename Shadman Chowk in Lahore after Baghat Singh, who was hanged at that place (Shadman Chowk) after he fought the British Army by raising a slogan of revolution in the subcontinent.