ISLAMABAD: The opposition in the Senate Friday demanded that the deputy chairman must apologise to the fellow senators, three suspended lawmakers be restored, and counting result regarding the SBP bill be announced to restore the House sanity.
Leader of the Opposition Syed Shibli Faraz said that he had learnt that Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani was not chairing the Senate sessions after the production order he issued for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Ijaz Chaudhry were flouted by the Punjab government, being a matter of disrespect for the House.
Presenting these demands in the House, the leader of the opposition, who is senior PTI leader, cautioned that without fulfilling these demands, the House would not retain its sanity and normal business. After some time, opposition members walked out of the Senate.
However, Shibli did not repeat his demand of resignation of Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan, who did not chair the sitting, and the proceedings were conducted by presiding officer Irfan Siddiqui. The question hour could not be held again due to unavailability of ministers concerned.
On a point of public importance, the leader of the opposition, referring to the deputy chairman, said, “You can’t run the House like your personal fiefdom.” Perhaps, he continued, the deputy chairman did not fully understand the law (rules) and the House traditions.
Shibli accused him of being antagonistic and very aggressive towards the opposition and used foul language, even against a lady Senator Falak Naz. Shilbi then recalled how the bill was processed and brought to the Senate for passage and the deputy chairman first went for voice vote and then physical voting but withheld the result.
The opposition, he emphasised, had the right to protest and it did so but the chairman at that time passed remarks against the House decorum and made certain gestures. Then he suspended three senators, and asked if such actions help improve atmosphere in the House.
“The deputy chairman should apologise to the fellow senators for disrespecting them and also to the suspended members of the House for the excesses he committed against them while the bill issue has to be taken to its logical conclusion, as there is no other way,” he made it clear.
The leader of the opposition regretted that members from all the provinces were sitting in the House, barring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for its 11 senators had been deprived of representation. “How then the Senate be called a House of federation,” he wondered.
Responding to him, the presiding officer Irfan Siddiqui said his demands were on record and that certainly the Senate Secretariat and the chairman would react to them and it would be conveyed to him. He also proposed that under Shibli’s leadership, the parliamentary leaders may meet Gilani and request him to return and chair the Senate.
“If any institution or a government has not paid attention to his production order, he may be unhappy with them but being custodian of the House, he may take his position again to help improve environment in the Senate,” he remarked.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Shahadat Awan, speaking on a point of public importance, said government employees were protesting in the Red Zone here over pension and retirement benefits. He urged the ministers to meet them to restore their confidence and the law and order situation in the area.
He pointed out that as Ramazan was fast approaching, some media reports suggested that the government was going to shutter Utility Stores Corporation (USC). “The government should review this decision,” he said, seeking assurance from the government not to lay off employees of the USC.
PPP’s Parliamentary Leader Senator Sherry Rehman was on her feet to say the police had used brutal force against the protesting employees, despite the fact peaceful protest was their right.
“I feel ashamed that protesting employees have been treated badly. The government should address their concerns. Please get a report on this and see that this doesn’t happen again,” she said, and wanted the government to ask the police and local administration to treat the protestors with leniency.
Replying to them, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that peaceful protest was the right of everyone but within the bound of law. He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had instructed the finance minister to engage with the government employees to resolve their issues. However, he insisted there should not be any blackmailing.
He said that the government was already ensuring the rights of those employees who were either being given golden handshake or sent in the surplus pool. He assured to take up the issue of use of force against protestors with the secretary interior and chief commissioner and police chief of Islamabad.
Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain in his response said the Utility Stores were not being shut but the government was going to restructure them either through privatisation or public-private partnership.
“These stores are getting an annual subsidy of Rs50 billion but their performance had declined sharply due to corruption and mismanagement, while the impact of subsidy was not reaching out to the poor,” he contended.
The minister said that the government would provide Ramazan package of Rs20 billion to around four million people through ‘cash transfer’ and Utility Stores would not be used to provide them food essentials at subsidised rates.
He also assured the House that the rights of all permanent employees of these stores would be ensured through an agreement in any process adopted by the government for their restructuring.
According to the House Business Advisory Committee meeting held before the first sitting of the session, the current session was expected to continue till February 25 but was prorogued Friday.