Says govt prefers IMF to legislature; Aitzaz says reference to be filed against PM, petroleum minister for violation of rules on LNG deal; Khaqan says opposition may bring as many references as it wants, he won’t even hire counsel
ISLAMABAD: Strongly opposing the privatisation policy of the PML-N government, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on Friday said the government was giving preference to dictates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to supremacy of parliament.
Heated discussions took place separately in the National Assembly and the Senate on the LNG prices and indirect taxation.While speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, the opposition leader said that parliament kept crying but nobody took it into confidence.
He was referring to the planned privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the LNG deal signed by Pakistan and Qatar.“You are making a mockery of parliament only to please the international financial institutions like the IMF,” said the opposition leader.
Khursheed initiated the discussion on a motion on the situation arising out of non-reduction in oil prices according the falling prices in international market and enforcement of Essential Services Maintenance Act in the PIA. Syed Naveed Qamar of PPP moved the motion.
Sensing something fishy in the LNG deal, the veteran politician said everybody knew as to who was facilitating finalisation of the agreement while sitting in Qatar. He recalled that the LNG import project was initiated by the last government of PPP which was transparent but the then Chief Justice of Pakistan took suo moto against the project.
Feeling absence of the prime minister from the house for the last many days, the opposition leader said, “It gives a feeling that neither you are ready to feel strength of Parliament nor you are ready to accept that you are under Parliament.”
He said the PPP government completed its five years because it gave importance to Parliament. He said one the member asked him as what the National Assembly rules say for an MNA who remain absent from proceeding for many days. He observed that thin attendance of members on treasury benches was also due to absence of the prime minister from the House.
On PIA issue, the opposition leader said the government itself made the PIA bill controversial whereas the National Assembly during PPP rule passed 137 bills, 98 percent of those okayed with consent of all the parties.
He regretted that the government had under estimated cost of PIA assets including its buildings located on premier land in major cities and hotels in New York and other places whereas the actual cost should be much more. On that one of the opposition members said he was ready pay double than the estimated cost.
He advised the government to stop befooling the masses when it says that it was not job the State to operate aircraft. “If the government cannot operate aircraft then how it can operate trains and buses,” the opposition leader, while referring to Metro bus and Orange train projects, said.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan claimed that a reference was being prepared or would be prepared against the prime minister and petroleum minister for the LNG deal in disregard to the rules and without taking Parliament into confidence.
Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the reference should be filed against those, who did nothing to reduce gas shortage during their five-year regime. He presented himself for facing any reference against while claiming responsibility of the LNG contract, adding that the opposition may bring as many references it wants, he would not even hire a counsel.
He claimed that imported LNG from Qatar will always be cheaper than the furnace oil. He parried queries why world tenders were not invited and PPRA rules violated while signing the gas deal.
The Senate chairman refused to include a supplementary agenda items in the orders of the day, requested by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, saying the matter was not in accordance with Rule 26 and that they had received the request at 10.15am Friday, whereas it should have landed at the Senate Secretariat 24 hours before the sitting.
The ministry had wanted tabling of the bill on the PIA in the Senate, already adopted by the National Assembly. The requisitioned session was prorogued by the chairman afterwards.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was winding up the debate on two separate motions, by the opposition parties, clubbed together on ‘depriving masses of benefits of gross reduction in petroleum prices in international markets and the government decision to further burden the gas consumers with Rs101 billion under the GIDC.
He said that similar five more contracts would be signed and the government would try to push for lesser price of the commodity.
He claimed that when power plants, presently being run on diesel, would be operated by LNG it will help the government save $600 million to one billion annually. He alleged that the PPP government had tried to ink a deal on higher rates.
The minister said they went for LNG deal with Qatar as the commodity was not available in Iran. He also claimed that the LNG would be cheaper than the gas to be supplied by proposed Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan-India gas pipeline. “We will also review prices of from Iran and Turkmenistan,” he said.
Abbasi claimed that though India had signed a bigger gas deal, but Pakistan managed to ink the contract with lower price. He regretted the levelling of baseless allegations against an independent country.
He defended the cut in prices of petroleum products and claimed these were the lowest in South Asia, as per direction of the prime minister to provide maximum relief to consumers.
The minister also said that taxes on the petroleum products remained unchanged, as they were in 2013, rejecting the allegations of the opposition senators that GST had been increased to 63 percent and 53 percent on diesel and petrol.
He also did not agree with the opposition that Rs101 billion would be collected from masses, insisting that those who would use LNG would pay for it and claimed not single penny burden would be imposed on public.
The minister noted that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority in January recommended 34 percent increase in gas prices, but the government did not increase its price by one percent even. He added a larger gas terminal would be built and it would help save $2 billion.
Earlier, Aitzaz said he felt frustrated, as Parliament held so many debates and aired proposals, but not a single one was adopted by the rulers. He alleged the government was relying on indirect taxation which hit the common man hard, while FBR’s recoveries were far less than its expenditures, adding that there was no policy to broaden the tax net.
He questioned why were international tenders not invited for import of LNG; why was it not imported from Iran and why did the government not push for early completion of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline after lifting of sanctions on Tehran.
Aitzaz feared that the chapter of gas pipeline from Iran was now appeared closed. He also wanted to know why the Russian option was not explored with regards to LNG.
He also strongly opposed recovery of what he called double taxes under the GIDC from consumers and wondered why the gas and tax-related matters were not referred to the Council of Common Interests, being a constitutional obligation. He asked for not recovering Rs101 billion cess from people and that the government should take steps for direct taxation.
MQM’s Senator Muhammad Ali Saif accused the government of being incapable and non-serious and billed recovery of GIDC worth Rs101 billion as usurpation.
“What the nation is seeing is the government of the wealthy, by the wealthy and for the wealthy,” retorted Hafiz Hamdullah of JUI-Fazl. He said family rule was the order of the day in South Asian countries, including, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s Sirajul Haq noted that both the government and opposition had always been talking about the poor but their policies were never formulated accordingly. He proposed formation of a parliamentary panel to devise pro-poor policies.