ISLAMABAD: The government in the Senate on Friday was criticised for allegedly keeping the Parliament ‘aloof’ of the negotiations being held with IMF and the decision to impose over Rs160 billion more taxes on masses.
Speaking on a point of public importance, PPP parliamentary leader in the House Senator Sherry Rehman questioned what she called the government shrouding its negotiations with the IMF team. She noted talks were held with the government functionaries and regulatory bodies here. She made it clear that the opposition reserved the right to question the government and the government should offer answer to it.
“The whole world is talking about the terms of negotiations between the government and the IMF and it these are making headlines in national newspapers. The rupee is falling and current account deficit has widened by 34 per cent and today we heard that over Rs160 billion in taxes are being levied on public,” she pointed out.
The PPP legislator noted that in one week of opposition’s requisitioned session and now another normal session is in progress whereas, she had also submitted two calling attention notices and one adjournment motion on IMF. But nothing was communicated in writing to her.
“I could be wrong but we were informally told that the instruments can’t be admitted for the IMF team was in town and the terms were not settled yet. This has never happened in the past even when IMF teams were visiting. Why can’t we talk on this urgent and critical matter openly in the Senate,” she wondered.
Senator Sherry insisted that it was the Senate as well as the parliamentarian’s right to ask questions and it was the government’s responsibility to answer those. A healthy discussion, she maintained, could lead to fruitful recommendations for the government in this connection.
She urged Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwala to consider her calling attention notices and the adjournment motion. The chair promised to look at them.
Earlier, during the question hour, Minister for Climate Change Ms. Zartaj Gul informed the House that out of Pakistan’s total 88.41 million hectares area, forest area was 4.55 per cent while forest area (national) was 5.1 per cent, as per a comprehensive study conducted by Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar in 2012.
She noted that an additional area of 0.348 million hectares was restored/enriched under the million tree tsunami project, implemented in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that increased the land under forest.
The minister explained that there would be no need to hide behind the 18th amendment, after the government had summoned the Council of Common Interest meeting, inviting the provincial ministers for forest, forest board representatives and district forest officers to work on a nationwide mechanism on afforestation.