Opposition has a field day as ‘mini-budget’ tabled in Senate

The treasury benches struggled on Tuesday to continue the Senate session amid strong noisy protests and frequent walkouts by the opposition lawmakers, forcing the chair to postpone the proceedings until Friday amid lack of quorum.

During the sitting, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin tabled the Finance Amendment Bill, which was referred to the relevant standing committee. The chair directed the committee to present its report to the house within three days.

Speaking on the Finance Amendment Bill 2021, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani criticised “the mini-budget”. He said that the people wanted to know what decisions were being taken at the behest of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the US.

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During the Question Hour, the health ministry informed the house about the prevalence of substandard and counterfeit drugs in the country. The ministry said that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had registered 108 cases and cancelled the registration of 12 substandard drugs..

In a separate written reply, the Foreign Ministry informed the house that a total of 9,991 Pakistani citizens were languishing in foreign jails. It said that the highest number of Pakistani prisoners, 2,555, was in Saudi Arabia, followed by 1,998 in the United Arab Emirates.

Among other countries, the Foreign Minister said that at present 884 Pakistanis were incarcerated in jails in Greece, adding that there were 345 Pakistani prisoners in India and 100 Pakistani prisoners in Iran.

On that occasion, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) raised the question of the Pakistanis imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. He asked the ministry how many Pakistanis were being held in US prison in Guantanamo Bay and what was the nature of their cases.

State Minister Ali Mohammad Khan replied that the government was in touch with the US authorities in this regard. He added that three Pakistanis, Saifullah Paracha, Mohammad Ahmad Rabbani and Abdul Rahim faced serious charges, adding that the Pakistan embassy was in touch with those inmates.

The state minister further said Prime Minister Imran Khan was working for the return of Dr Aafia Siddiqui. The government was trying to bring Aafia Siddiqui back to Pakistan and necessary steps were being taken in this regard, he added.

“We will try to bring Pakistanis back from jails abroad,” Ali Mohammad Khan assured the house. He added that no Pakistani had been extradited to any country during the tenure of the current Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

PM’s foreign visits Details of Prime Minister Imran Khan's foreign trips during the last three years were also presented in the House. According to documents, Prime Minister Imran undertook 47 foreign trips during his tenure, which cost more than Rs200 million.

Senator Senator Mushtaq Ahmad asked what benefits the country received from the prime minister’s foreign visits. He alleged that dozens of people accompanied the prime minister during his visit to Saudi Arabia.

State Minister Ali Muhammad Khan replied that the prime minister was on official visit to Saudi Arabia and he was accompanied by security staff. He added that former prime ministers even went on personal visits on the government expenses.

The chair referred the matter to the relevant standing committee.

Audiotape leak

During the session, Leader of the House Dr Shehzad Waseem pointed to the alleged audio of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz.

However, Irfan Siddiqui of the PML-N told the PTI leader to ignore such matters.

The Upper House of parliament unanimously passed the Protection of Women from Workplace Harassment Amendment Bill 2021. The bill was introduced by Human Rights Minister Dr Sharin Mazari. The National Commission for the Rights of the Child Amendment Bill was also passed unanimously.

The opposition staged walkout from the session in protest against the government’s move of not giving briefing on the matters related to the Reko Diq. Due to incomplete quorum, the house was adjourned till Friday morning.

(With additional input from agencies)