VIDEO: Senate panel meeting fumes after ‘charas’ quip sparks spat

ISLAMABAD: Tempers flared at a Senate committee meeting on Tuesday when Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Aimal Wali Khan and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Maj-Gen (retd) Hafeez Ur Rehman engaged in a heated argument over a controversial “charas” comment made by the latter.

The incident unfolded during a Senate Functional Committee meeting, chaired by Senator Agha Shahzaib Durrani, held to discuss the routine agenda.

During the exchange, the PTA chairman accused Senator Aimal of smoking charas, a type of hand-made hashish produced from live cannabis plants, triggering a strong reaction from the senator.

“How can a government official tell me I’ve come here after smoking charas?” Aimal said as he raged over this disturbing jibe. The senator continued: “Who gave you [PTA chief] the audacity to speak like this [to me]?”

The PTA chairman, attempting to defuse the situation, later said, “It was a mistake on my part,” and apologised to the senator.

But Aimal refused to back down and went on to say, “If you use drugs or alcohol, then you make such comments.”

Demanding strict disciplinary action against the PTA chairman for his misconduct, the ANP senator said, “Either he stays in the meeting, or I do.”

Eventually, the PTA chairman had to leave the committee session.

Committee chairman Durrani condemned the PTA chief’s behaviour, calling it disrespectful not just to the senator but to the entire committee.

“This is not acceptable from any officer,” he said, adding that the matter will now be raised with the prime minister, and the IT secretary has been directed to take note of the incident.