PPP senators stage walkout after concern not addressed

Disappearance of Zardari’s aides

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senators walked out of the Senate after their concern about the missing three aides to former president and the PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali was not addressed by the minister concerned.

Raising the issue of the missing aides, Senator Taj Haider lamented that the state minister of interior was in the House but he was not responding to their concern. Later, he led the party senators’ walkout. MQM’s Tahir Hussain Mashhadi rose to charge that 169 workers of his party were also missing while there had been custodial deaths of 59 others. He also walked out along with other MQM senators.

Replying to a question by PML-N Senator Abdul Qayyum, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said the rail section from Mandra to Chakwal was also included in the study to see the viability of its revival. “People of the related areas will be relieved and delighted, if the Mandra-Chakwal section is revived,” the senator emphasised.

Advertisements, costing Rs133,084,360 have been given by the government to 74 foreign newspapers and magazines since 2014-15, Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb told the house in response to a question by the PPP’s Rozi Kakar.

Replying to a question by Senator Kalsoom Parveen, she said after graduation with majors in mass communication and education, Absar Alam, Pemra chairman, obtained advanced diploma in English language from the National Institute of Modern Languages, now NUML, completed part-I of MA English literature from the Punjab University, completed short course on financial writing from Lahore University of Management Sciences, completed course on conflict zone and war reporting from The East-West Centre University of Hawaii and went for a year of studies as Nieman Fellow-2005 at Harward University.