Senate chairman snubs minister for quoting dictator

ISLAMABAD: In reply to a question by MQM’s Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar quoted ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf. She said Musharraf used to say that actions speak louder than words while she was referring to the government’s policies.
This prompted a question by Rabbani, who quipped, “I have a supplementary question to ask. Who is Musharraf? During the parliamentary proceedings, an elected minister of a democratic government is quoting a military dictator. I will discourage this and ask other members to be mindful of this in future,” he asserted.
Prior to adjourning the proceedings till today (Thursday), Rabbani recalled how on November 03 in 2007, a dictator had imposed emergency and it was a matter of pride that majority of the members sitting in parliament were part of the parliament which had not ratified the steps taken under the emergency.
Then, he also recalled, there was a long struggle by the lawyers community, civil society and political forces and the leader of opposition was also a key figure of that movement, which ultimately sent Musharraf packing. Rabbani lauded the continuation of the democratic process and transition of power from one elected government to another, adding this was an indication of the fact that the state institutions were getting strengthened and moving forward. He called the arrival of the Supreme Court Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali at parliament and his address to the Senate committee a significant development after the Senate chairman was invited to the apex court.