Do your duty: Senators irked by officials skiving off meetings
Chairman calls meeting of heads of Senate panels
ISLAMABAD:
Senate chairperson Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari assured disgruntled senators on Thursday that he will call a joint meeting of chairpersons of all senate standing committees to decide a course of action against ministers and senior government officials who have made a habit of skipping committee meetings.
He said this after eight senators approached him to complain about the communications minister and the law division secretary who failed to show up for a meeting scheduled for Thursday.
They were supposed to discuss legal opinions on the promotion of National Highway Authority officers in BS 20 and BS 21; alternative routes for the Pak-China Economic Corridor; and the status of implementation of recommendations made at previous meetings.
The senators complained that neither the communications minister or secretary nor the law division secretary had shown up for the meeting despite being sent several notices.
Senators Daud Khan Achakzai (committee chairman), Kamil Ali Agha, Rozi Khan Karar, Zahid Khan, Mukhtar Ahmed Dhamrah, Mir Mohammad Yousuf Badni, Mohsin Khan Laghari and Humayun Khan Mandokhel attended the meeting. They said that the communications ministry and law division officers were supposed to give them a briefing regarding the promotion of NHA officers and an alternate route for the Pak-China Economic Corridor proposed at the previous meeting.
They were told later that the communications secretary had recently been posted as the cabinet division secretary and the NHA chairman had the additional charge of communications secretary, who at that time, was in another meeting at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.
An officer representing the law ministry, who introduced himself as an adviser of the law ministry on legislative affairs, attended the meeting but the senators protested saying only the law division secretary was authorised to opine on the issue.
The committee members postponed the meeting and complained about the law division secretary and communications minister and secretary to the senate chairperson. They told him that ministers and government officers often failed to show up at meetings.
According to some officials of the Senate’s Secretariat, Bokhari said he would deal with the issue according to rules. He said he would call a meeting of chairpersons of standing committees of senate to decide a strategy to deal with the matter. He asked the secretariat to set a date for the meeting.
Senator Zahid Khan said, “This is not the first time government officers have failed to attend meetings. We will no longer stand for it.”
Senator Humayon Mandokhel said they did it on purpose. “The government is avoiding a discussion on the Pak-China Economic Corridor because it does not want to change the route.” He said senators from Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had objected to the route put forward by the government as previously it was supposed to go through cities in Balochistan and KP, but was later changed and diverted towards cities of the Punjab and Sindh.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2014.
Senate chairperson Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari assured disgruntled senators on Thursday that he will call a joint meeting of chairpersons of all senate standing committees to decide a course of action against ministers and senior government officials who have made a habit of skipping committee meetings.
He said this after eight senators approached him to complain about the communications minister and the law division secretary who failed to show up for a meeting scheduled for Thursday.
They were supposed to discuss legal opinions on the promotion of National Highway Authority officers in BS 20 and BS 21; alternative routes for the Pak-China Economic Corridor; and the status of implementation of recommendations made at previous meetings.
The senators complained that neither the communications minister or secretary nor the law division secretary had shown up for the meeting despite being sent several notices.
Senators Daud Khan Achakzai (committee chairman), Kamil Ali Agha, Rozi Khan Karar, Zahid Khan, Mukhtar Ahmed Dhamrah, Mir Mohammad Yousuf Badni, Mohsin Khan Laghari and Humayun Khan Mandokhel attended the meeting. They said that the communications ministry and law division officers were supposed to give them a briefing regarding the promotion of NHA officers and an alternate route for the Pak-China Economic Corridor proposed at the previous meeting.
They were told later that the communications secretary had recently been posted as the cabinet division secretary and the NHA chairman had the additional charge of communications secretary, who at that time, was in another meeting at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.
An officer representing the law ministry, who introduced himself as an adviser of the law ministry on legislative affairs, attended the meeting but the senators protested saying only the law division secretary was authorised to opine on the issue.
The committee members postponed the meeting and complained about the law division secretary and communications minister and secretary to the senate chairperson. They told him that ministers and government officers often failed to show up at meetings.
According to some officials of the Senate’s Secretariat, Bokhari said he would deal with the issue according to rules. He said he would call a meeting of chairpersons of standing committees of senate to decide a strategy to deal with the matter. He asked the secretariat to set a date for the meeting.
Senator Zahid Khan said, “This is not the first time government officers have failed to attend meetings. We will no longer stand for it.”
Senator Humayon Mandokhel said they did it on purpose. “The government is avoiding a discussion on the Pak-China Economic Corridor because it does not want to change the route.” He said senators from Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had objected to the route put forward by the government as previously it was supposed to go through cities in Balochistan and KP, but was later changed and diverted towards cities of the Punjab and Sindh.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2014.