National Assembly proceedings: Payments to ad agencies draw opposition’s ire

PML-N wants information ministry’s budget allocations blocked till the issue is settled .

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday sought from the government an explanation on alleged corruption in the payments of over Rs350 million to various advertisement agencies.

Speaking to the National Assembly, a senior MP from the main opposition party called for blocking Rs4.2 billion allocated for the federal information ministry in next year’s budget until this issue is resolved.

Initiating the debate on information ministry’s charged expenditures after government’s opposition to its 35 cut motions, PML-N secretary information Ahsan Iqbal questioned performance of the ministry.

“The ministry is given billion of rupees for image building of the country but it is unfortunate that the money is spent for political goals,” Iqbal said. He also demanded of the government to produce details of the Rs3 billion secret fund.

Ahsan Iqbal recapitulated several corruption scandals [PIA, Hajj, Pakistan Steel Mills, NICL etc.] of this government and said misappropriation of over Rs350 million for advertisement ‘was first of its kind’.

Iqbal underlined the need for making Pemra an autonomous body on the patterns of Auditor General’s office while regretting that Pakistan was one of the most dangerous places for journalists.

While responding to the cut motions of the opposition, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan referred to millions of rupees spent by the government of Punjab for advertisement and said “if Punjab chief minister can pay millions of rupees under the head of advertisements to APNS and print media and it is justified, why the information ministry is being targeted.”

She said the incumbent government on the directives of Prime Minister constituted a committee to resolve the issue of payment of pending bills to the print media, adding that bills worth Rs350 million have been forwarded to AGPR for payment.

The National Assembly approved demands for grants for the ministry totalling over Rs4.2 billion amid criticism of the opposition.

Earlier, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said foreign policy had always been in accordance with the wishes of the people, brushing aside opposition’s assertion that this was not the case.

Responding to 33 cut-motions of the PML-N against 4 demands of Ministry of Foreign Affairs for over Rs12 billion, the state minister said that the government was cognizant of the fact that there must be economic returns of foreign policy.

The opposition had hit hard at the government for its preference to run the affairs of the ministry without a federal minister. In addition, the MPs from the PML-N had demanded the government to revisit its foreign policy.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi noted that the government policymaking [with regard to Kashmir, Afghanistan and USA] was not in control of the foreign office. “The intelligence agencies should have no role in policymaking of the country,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2011.