Petrol crisis forces govt to delay NA session

ISLAMABAD: The government has not summoned the National Assembly (NA) session requisitioned by the joint opposition last Tuesday to discuss the petrol shortage crisis that hit the nook and corner of the country for more than ten days. Apparently, the government decided to delay the session and opposition’s onslaught till the crisis was over. Under the rules the government is supposed to convene session of the house requisitioned within 14 days from the date a requisition is submitted. By that standard the government can summon the house by February 2 or 3 next. But the purpose for which it was requisitioned would be almost over as already the steps taken to overcome the crisis are yielding results.
Whenever the session will now be summoned the opposition parliamentarians would take on the government for deliberately delaying the convening the lower house session at the right time besides digging out the core crisis and suggesting punishment to the responsible officials. It will also demand sacking of concerned minister(s) who failed to preempt the crisis before it struck the country.
Interestingly, leader of opposition in the NA Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah who took pains to reach the capital to meet other opposition leaders to get their nod for requisitioning the lower house went back to his hometown after the requisition was submitted and is expected to return by the beginning of next week, sources close to him said.
Meanwhile, the government is plagued by another serious crisis of electricity shortage which is resulting in unprecedented lengthy load shedding especially in Punjab and Balochistan. The NA, whenever it is summoned, would take up the load shedding issue along with the fading issue of petrol shortage.
It may be recalled that the opposition parties in the NA on Tuesday (January 20) had submitted a requisition for an NA meeting regarding the countrywide petrol crisis with at least 95 percent of the members having signed the requisition.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP), Muttahida Qaumi movement (MQM), Pakistan Muslim League-Qauid (PML-Q), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and independent members all were consulted by they opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah to make the plea more effective. However the government while taking steps to overcome the petrol shortage crisis on emergency level took no step to convene the lower house to enable it debate the causes of the worst petrol crisis in the national history or to fix responsibility for wrong doers. Even opposition leader’s demand for a judicial probe into the whole issue fell on the deaf ears and the two-member official team put responsibility on the shoulders of Ogra and saved the skin of real culprits.
The requisition desired that that measures on emergency basis are needed to get the people of the country out of this crisis which the government has already done and the crisis seemingly is dying.