New fuel prices enrage Opposition

Muhammad Anis *** Mumtaz Alvi

ISLAMABAD: Opposition Monday raised protest on increase in prices of petroleum products so strongly that proceedings both in the National Assembly (NA) and the Senate were halted.

Members from the opposition parties registered protest in the NA forcing premature adjournment of the House. The opposition parliamentarians after raising slogans rose from their seats and surrounded the Speaker’s dais. The members carrying placards inscribed with slogans disapproving increase in prices of petroleum products made it difficult for him to continue proceedings of the House.

Responding to protest from the opposition MPs, Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar said that agitation from opposition parties reflects their hypocrisy. He said the opposition leaders have been questioning as to when the government would go to IMF and now they were protesting against the IMF.

He said the opposition members should also remember that petrol price reached to hike of Rs113 when they were in the government while inflation rate was also higher in their tenure.

As the slogans from protesting members got louder, the Speaker warned them to refrain from raising slogans and carrying placards. He said carrying placards was against Assembly’s rules adding that he would adjourn proceeding if protest does not stop. At last, the Speaker adjourned proceedings of the House till Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, Minister for Petroleum Division Omar Ayub during question hour told the NA that Rs28.39 per liter on petrol was being received from masses which include Rs2.77 customs duty, Rs12.12 petroleum levy and Rs13.50 as General Sales Tax.

Omar Ayub who also holds portfolio of Minister for Power Division, informed the House that there would be no loadshedding during the Iftar and Sehri timings and electricity would be available for five hours on both occasions.

He further said that presently there was four hours’ electricity loadshedding on average in the country informing the House that the last government left behind circular debt of over Rs800 billion while there were line losses.

After the question hour, the session was adjourned. The sources said the PML-N has also decided to raise issue of petroleum prices after submitting a calling attention notice. The party sources said an adjournment motion has also been submitted in the National Assembly Secretariat against appointment of ex IMF official Reza Baqir as State Bank of Pakistan Governor.

Talking to newsmen following adjournment of the House, opposition leaders Khwaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal said the government had put sovereignty of the country at stake with appointment of an ex-IMF official as governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Ahsan Iqbal said instead of paying heed to protest of the opposition members in the National Assembly, the ministers escaped from criticism and House was adjourned. He said the government dropped a bomb on the masses by increasing price of petroleum products.

Khawaja Asif maintained that the opposition parties would also take to roads against increase in the price of petroleum products and price hike. In the Senate, the Opposition senators stormed out as a mark of protest after they were not allowed to speak on what they called the ‘gas and petrol bomb’ dropped on people just ahead of the month of Ramazan.

After the opposition senators staged walk-out from the House, quorum was pointed out and, following the count, only 12 members were present. Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani called for ringing of bells for five minutes but this also did not work and 14 senators were around. The House failed to dispose of 25-point agenda.

The chair then suspended the proceedings for 30 minutes and during this phase, the treasury senators tried to convince the opposition to return to the House, but they insisted on being permitted to speak on price hike of utilities and other items. As the House reconvened, only eleven senators were present in the Senate, leaving the chair with no other option but to adjourn the proceedings till Tuesday morning.

Senator Abbasi wanted to express his views on oil and gas-related issues. But he was not allowed. The chair contended that they would be given ample time to have debate and he was prepared to even sit till 10 at night, insisting on completion of the agenda first.

The chair then gave floor to Leader of Opposition Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq, who also said that price hike was a very important issue and there should be no difference of opinion on this that there should be debate, as this would give opportunity to the government to also explain its position thereon.

He pointed out that the increase in prices of petroleum products have impacted the economy and every sphere of life, advising the government not to be concerned at the debate.

Leader of the House Syed Shibli Faraz said it was very unfortunate that the opposition senators would speak with their faces towards the galleries instead of letting the House exhaust its agenda first. “You may debate but don’t try to turn the Senate into a ‘rajwara’ (cattle-shed),” he said.

“We are ready for debate and will show mirror to the opposition. They may talk oil prices and we will explain as to what exactly had happened in the past,” he contended.

Earlier, PPP parliamentary leader Senator Sherry Rehman presented the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Substitution of Article 84) in the House. The bill aims at substitution of Article 84 of the Constitution, to curtail the practice of expenditures in excess and that of supplementary grants, except in dire need or uncertainty.

Speaking on the floor of the House, she explained, “Parliaments have the authority to pass supplementary budgets under emergency situations and that is exactly what Article 84 is, an emergency clause. But now, it is continuously being exploited. Entire budgets should be passed after undergoing parliamentary oversight. In the UK as well as in the neighbouring India, supplementary grants pass through the parliament”.

She pointed out, “We have noticed that over the past 10 years, the supplementary grants have dramatically increased. So much so, in the last fiscal year, supplementary grants increased by 93% compared to 2017. This is tax payer’s money, how can such a substantial increase in supplementary grants bypass the parliament”.

Senator Sherry contended that PTI’s former Finance Minister had also acknowledged that in the interests of better governance, supplementary grants should be phased out. However, he was unable to do it and the incoming Finance Minister had already passed some supplementary grants in the ECC meeting.

“We have seen in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that there is a growing reliance on supplementary grants amongst institutions. Ideally, the National Assembly should be authorising this but presently it falls on the PAC. The amounts of these grants are consistently increasing but the parliament is oblivious to it. On this basis, I would like this bill to be passed onto the committee for approval and consideration,” she said.

Later, through voice vote, the chair referred the bill to the House standing committee concerned for deliberations and report, rejecting Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Muhammad Azam Swati’s proposal that the Finance Ministry should give its opinion on the bill first.

Five bills were also introduced in the House, which were referred to the respective standing committees of the Senate: these included the Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill by Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh, 2019, Senator Ghous Muhammad Niazi's the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019] and the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019] the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019, also by Senator Mian Ateeq.

An interesting situation was witnessed in the House when one PML-N Senator Ghous Muhammad Niazi’s bill to amend the Companies Act, 2017, was opposed by Senator Musadiq Malik, citing some reasons. However, the chair permitted Niazi to move the bill, which was referred to the House committee.