Flood debate concludes with indifference

Only five members of Senate present when flood debate concluded on Thursday.

ISLAMABAD: The floods that inundated one-fifth of the country might have moved the entire nation to sympathy, but in the Senate only five members out of 100 were present when the debate concluded on Thursday.

Some of the members from both treasury and opposition benches had made fiery speeches while the issue was under discussion during the last four days but most were absent when Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gul, adviser to the prime minister, stood up to respond to the points they had raised and conclude the debate.

Realising that only people in the press gallery were listening to the statement he was making on the floor of the House, Gul complained that members left after castigating the government.

He also pointed out that among those who opposed the imposition of the proposed tax, some were extremely rich. He said the same people on the one hand oppose new taxes and on the other resist getting loans from international donors.

Defending the government, Gul said that the federal government is being used as a punching bag by critics while equal responsibility lies with provincial governments for providing relief.

Quoting the official figures of damages caused by the floods, the adviser said that the scale is greater than many of the disasters the world has seen in recent years combined.

Gul justified the military’s pro-active response compared with the civilian government’s.

Earlier during question hour, the federal minister for sports Pir Aftab Jilani said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is taking decisions on its own and the ministry has no power to interfere in its affairs.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2010.