BAP seeks more federal ministries

Senators belonging to PTI’s allied party stage a walkout from House in protest

ISLAMABAD:

The Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) – a partner in the ruling coalition – on Friday demanded more representation in the federal cabinet.

The lawmakers of BAP staged a walkout from the Senate in protest against the federal government's “continued disregard” for the party and Balochistan and the lack of additional ministries at the Centre.

During the proceedings of the upper house, presided over by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, BAP’s Senator Prince Omar Ahmadzai demanded that his party be removed from the federal government's “grey list”.

“If we are not given more representation in the federal cabinet, we will boycott the next [Senate] sitting,” he warned.

On the directives of the Senate chairman, Railways Minister Azam Swati convinced the annoyed BAP members to return to the House.

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman offered the BAP lawmakers to sit on the opposition benches.
However, on their return, Manzoor Ahmed Kakar, a BAP senator, replied to her that his party was an ally of the government and would always remain so.

“We did not protest for the ministries but for the rights of Balochistan,” he added.

Later, PPP Senators Mian Raza Rabbani and Sherry Rehman questioned the government's foreign policy. They claimed that there was contradiction and confusion in the policy statements of the Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

The opposition demanded that either the premier or the foreign minister come to the House and give an explanation.

Leader of House Shahzad Waseem said the foreign policy was moving in the right direction and made it clear that the country would stay away from “camp politics”.

"Pakistan seeks better relations with all countries, including the US," he added.

Minister of State Ali Muhammad Khan complained of not receiving an award from the prime minister and declared himself the twelfth player.

“The twelfth player is there to respond to queries. No matter how many answers we give, we will remain a twelfth player.”

Separately, a report submitted to the Senate revealed that 100% of potable water in three cities -- Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad and Gilgit – was unsafe for drinking.

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The National Water Quality Monitoring 2020 was undertaken in 29 main cities of the country. It showed that 61% of water sources in these cities were unsafe for drinking mainly due to microbial contamination.
Responding to questions in Senate, Science and Technology Minister Shibli Faraz said after the 18th amendment, the responsibility of provision of safe drinking water as well as improving its quality lay with the provinces.

He said the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) was undertaking water quality monitoring across the country since 2001.

“The findings and recommendations of countrywide monitoring are regularly shared with all stakeholders including provincial governments to undertake remedial actions,” he added.

The minister also told the House that Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governments had started important projects for the provision of clean drinking water.

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He added that the PCRWR and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had collectively started a project for recharging groundwater levels.

The senators also condemned the incident involving a hijab-wearing woman in India.

In a viral video, 19-year-old student Muskaan Khan can be seen entering her college as a mob of men approach her. Wearing saffron shawls - a colour associated with Hinduism and Hindu nationalist groups - they started shouting "Jai Shri Ram".

As they continued to heckle her, Muskaan, who was wearing a hijab and a face mask along with a long black gown, stood her ground - she shouted "Allahu Akbar" in return. Soon, college authorities escorted her inside.