760 PIA workers with fake degrees sacked

Senate told departmental action under way against 127 other employees

ISLAMABAD:

The aviation ministry informed the Senate on Wednesday that the services of 760 PIA employees had been terminated so far for possessing fake degrees.

On a query raised by Senator Sirajul Haq, the head of the Jamat-e-Islami, the ministry in its written response replied that departmental action was under way against 127 other employees of the national carrier but 87 of them had sought a stay order from the courts.

The housing and works ministry, in response to Senator Mian Ateeq Shaikh’s query, informed the house that 17,327 government residences in Islamabad were legally allotted. A total of 169 of them were occupied illegally. It added that illegal occupants from 42 of them had been evicted.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan told the upper house of parliament that the government is making efforts to expand the coverage area of cellular services to the areas where they were unavailable.

“Over 3,000 new sites have been identified for the installation of towers to provide better and improved services,” he said during Question Hour.

The opposition lawmakers demanded the convening of sitting of the upper house of parliament as the Committee of the Whole – where all members are present as a committee to take up an issue of national importance – to discuss the hardships faced by the people of Karachi in the wake of devastating heavy rains.

Senators belonging to the PML-N, Jamaat-e-Islami and other parties pointed out that the country’s economic hub was sinking and the government was apparently doing nothing about it. They said all stakeholders of the city should be invited to attend the sitting of the committee.

In response, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani said Karachi had always stood by and assisted people living in other parts of the country in their times of crisis. “Now they should reciprocate in a similar manner and help the people of Karachi,” he added.

The issue of a female lawyer, who was abducted from her office in Haveli Lakha, Okara, tortured and released four days later, also came under discussion in the house. The senators said the ordeal of the lawyer was an embarrassment for the state and the matter should be referred to human rights committee.

Senator Faisal Javed of the PTI told the house that convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif was allowed to leave the country on medical grounds but now he could be seen in pictures on the streets of London.

“Nawaz Sharif had probably started feeling better even before his plane took off for London,” he quipped. The senator said Sharif’s brother, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, had submitted an undertaking to the court that he would ensure the return of his brother to the country. “He [Shehbaz] is committing contempt of court by not bringing his brother back,” he added.

The PTI senator said the government was taking steps to bring back the Sharif family patriarch. “He [Sharif] comes to Pakistan for some time to indulge in corrupt practices and then leaves the country. Is he from another planet?”

PML-N’s Senator Mushahidullah Khan maintained that an attempt was made to murder Sharif when he was in the country. He added that his blood platelet count was deliberately lowered to put his life in danger.

“It is not appropriate to crack jokes about somebody’s illness.”

The Senate chairman gave a detailed ruling on two bills -- related to meeting the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) requirements -- presented before the house a day earlier.

He noted that the bills were passed by the National Assembly on August 24. He added that according to ministers, the passage of the bills was linked to national security as they would help in removing the country from the FATF’s grey list. “The members of the house rejected the bills and they have a right to do so.”

Sanjrani said his brief ruling on the matter a day earlier was misunderstood. “It is a matter of national interest and my decision was in accordance with the rules.”

Earlier, Senator Raza Rabbani of the PPP pointed out that the Senate had neither approved, nor rejected the bills so far.