Ministries handed out like 'charity'

Pirzada says housing ministry among those given away

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Housing and Works Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada has alleged that his ministry had been misused in the past for political and other purposes.

Pirzada made the remarks on Wednesday during a heated meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works, chaired by Senator Nasir Butt, where the issue of pensions and outstanding dues of former Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD) employees came under discussion.

He said billions of rupees had been lost through fraudulent letters and fake bank guarantees and alleged that some ministries had effectively been treated as political "charity".

"Four or five such ministries are given away as charity," Pirzada said.

He further alleged that the Ministry of Housing and Works had repeatedly been used for "blackmailing" and challenged the committee to examine the record of the previous six ministers.

"They were MNAs and governments stood with their support. They kept doing all this, and today I have to face the consequences," Pirzada said, questioning why he should be held responsible for actions taken by his predecessors.

The minister's remarks came against the backdrop of a dispute over pensions of PWD employees following the department's closure and the subsequent adjustment of its employees in other institutions.

He also endorsed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi's assessment that the country's system has failed, while clarifying that Naqvi may not have chosen the right words but that the underlying reality was difficult to deny.

The minister said the problems confronting employees were a direct consequence of weaknesses in the system and questioned why institutions were closed when people working in them had been performing their duties properly.

"Naqvi Sahib did not use the right words, but the reality is that the system has failed," Pirzada said, adding that the government was not a charitable organisation.