Pakistan, Dec. 6 -- National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri on Thursday directed the interior minister to take notice of the alleged arrest last month of four women from Balochistan's Awaran district and come to the session to brief lawmakers on the issue.

The directives were issued after the opposition members led by Sardar Akhtar Mengal of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal, a government ally, staged a sit-in in front of the speaker's dais.

According to Mengal, "four women had been kidnapped on November 29 and taken away to a torture cell".

On Tuesday, the BNP-M had termed the reported arrest of the women a direct attack on the traditions of Baloch people. The party had demanded the formation of a high-level committee to ...