Upper house proceedings: Senators hit out at govt over inaction

Say the govt should resolve current political crisis.


Our Correspondent May 22, 2014
A file photo of the Senate. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:


Senators criticised the government during upper house proceedings on Wednesday over what they said was its inaction in dealing with recent political incidents and failure to take Parliament into confidence.


The discussion on the prevalent political situation opened up on its third day with Senator Kamil Ali Agha urging the government to defuse political tensions without taking in sides. Senator Kulsoom Parveen suggested Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has already met Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief face-to-face once, to meet Imran Khan once more in the spirit of politics of reconciliation.

Senator Afrasiab Khattak, on the other hand, criticised PTI, saying those that had been allowed by militants to campaign openly ahead of the 2013 elections were now raising doubts about the electoral process. He said certain new characters had also entered the stage to derail democracy, while the government seemed weak. He added that while his party was also dissatisfied with the way the 2013 elections were conducted, they had accepted the outcome for the sake of democracy.

Khattak chastised the government for not taking Parliament into confidence when taking such a big step as ordering airstrikes in North Waziristan and demanded an in-camera session be called to discuss the current situation.



Earlier, during question hour, the government received a rare pat on the back from senators who have vehemently criticised its policies. They especially commended the performance of Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique.

The minister, while replying to various questions about his department, said they were in the process of inducting 58 locomotives, 14 of which had already been made functional. He added that this would be the last summer where trains were either delayed by eight to ten hours or collapsed halfway through their journeys.

At the same time, he pointed out that the success of the railways depended on coal-based initiatives in Sindh and the aid provided to Pakistan under the Pak-China Economic Corridor.

Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Sughra Imam posed a question, asking whether any individual who was court-martialed was eligible for service in Pakistan. The defence ministry in its reply said no such appointment could be made but asked for more time when Imam mentioned the name of Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Aviation Shujaat Azim.

The opposition, meanwhile, walked out of the Senate again after PPP Senator Raza Rabbani mentioned a letter sent to the government by independent power producers with the threat that they would conduct 14 hours of load-shedding if they were not paid Rs300 billion immediately.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22nd, 2014.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ