Opposition, treasury trade barbs in NA

Aviation minister says lease of PIA plane could not be paid due to coronavirus pandemic

ISLAMABAD:

The treasury and opposition benches levelled allegations against each other in the National Assembly and had a heated debate on various issues including the seizing of a PIA plane in Malaysia last month.

The NA session was held on a private members’ day under the chairmanship deputy speaker Qasim Khan Suri.

Both Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan and opposition had a harsh exchange of words on the call-attention notice regarding the seizure of Roosevelt Hotel in New York, Scribe Hotel in Paris and grounding of PIA plane in Malaysia last month.

The minister stated that the lease of the plane could not be paid due to closure of operation in Covid-19 pandemic.

He blamed the PML-N government for acquiring plane on an expensive lease that the national carrier failed to pay on time due to coronavirus pandemic.

Last month, the Malaysian authorities seized a PIA Boeing-777 at the Kuala Lumpur Airport on the orders of the Malaysian court after PIA failed to pay the leasing fee of about $14 million.

Khan said Pakistan was in “safe hands” and added that the incumbent regime had saved the country from a penalty of $1.2 in the Reko Dik case.

He said the past government had inducted 762 pilots who held fake degrees while the incumbent regime dismissed 82 of them.

Parliamentarian Nafisa Shah alleged that the aviation minister had caused loss of billions of rupees to the national kitty by giving “wrong” statement about the national flag carrier and sought his resignation.

Mocking Khan, lawmaker Shagufta Jamali said the minister might have been given the task to abandon PIA.

Khan said he stood by his statement that 762 pilots held dubious credentials.

The NA approved a resolution regarding the development of erstwhile Fata and constitution of a special committee for 3% share of the provinces in the NFC award.

Meanwhile, the NA session rejected a bill seeking scrutiny of allegations against the lawmakers by a special committee before their arrest with authority to decide at the preliminary stage about further legal proceedings against the accused.

The bill - the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Amendment in Article-66) - was sponsored by PML-N lawmaker Syed Javed Husnain but was rejected after being opposed by the Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice Maleeka Ali Bokhari.

The mover of the bill said the parliament was the supreme body which legislated for the welfare of people but its members could be arrested unlike other institutions which had their internal system to investigate allegations against their employees.

He suggested that institutions must write to NA speaker or Senate chairman in case of any allegation against any parliamentarian.

Hasnain said police could not arrest any personnel of anti-corruption department while the anti-corruption did not take action against the officials of the FIA.

The parliamentary secretary for law and justice opposed the bill and noted that public representatives should be accountable for their acts.

PPP’s Naveed Qamar reminded that ethics committees existed in various parliaments of the world and suggested the House to adopt the same practice.

With input APP