ISLAMABAD: Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla, during proceeding in the Senate on Wednesday, barred Senate members from appearing before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) without approval from the Senate chairman's office. The Senate deputy chairman took this stance when National Party (NP) Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo submitted a privilege motion on reports of the NAB allegedly preparing to take action against him for allegedly having purchased properties billions in six districts of Punjab. He said NAB had written to him and there were reports about his possible arrest. To this, Mandviwalla, who chaired the sitting, said that he had written letters to the NAB chairman and all members of the Upper House, barring them from appearing before the accountability watchdog without approval from the Senate chairman's office. “No senator should appear before NAB without taking permission from the (Senate) chairman office," Mandviwalla said. He added this protocol should be followed if a member receives any notice from the bureau. "If NAB forces you to come, make it clear that the bureau should communicate with the (Senate) chairman office," he added.
Rabbani rose to explain that the position taken by the chair was substantiated by the relevant rules and that some reasons of sending a notice to a senator for summoning should also be mentioned to the Senate chairman. But the opposition parties appeared unconvinced and wanted the chair to refer the motion to the House committee concerned while Opposition Leader Raja Zafarul Haq demanded that the NAB chairman be summoned to the Senate to explain the bureau's recent steps against parliamentarians.
Senator Zafar said this process would not bar NAB from doing what it was planning or doing and added that the NAB chief should be called for discussing the rules with him. He also demanded that a special committee be formed over the issue.
But the deputy Senate chairman stressed that the Opposition parties should wait for the NAB chairman to respond to his letter.
Bizenjo noted, "I have been accused of purchasing property worth billions and my wife, daughter and nephews had been implicated as well. I challenge ISI, FIA and NAB to form a JIT against me and I shall appear before it and if that is not enough, I am ready to appear before a committee formed by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)”.
Bizenjo claimed that he "unfortunately" had a hand in the appointment of the current NAB chairman. "I supported him because he belonged to Balochistan," the NP president added.
PML-N parliamentary leader Senator Mushahidullah claimed that besides NAB, some ministers were also conducting the media trial of Opposition lawmakers. "Opposition members are arrested but only inquiries are carried out against government members," the PML-N senator alleged and added that the same treatment should also be meted out to Prime Minister Imran Khan, his sister Aleema Khan and others.
Leader of the House Syed Shibli Faraz and PTI Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak charged that none should consider himself above accountability and that it should be ensured that there must be no pressure on the anti-graft body.
Senator Khattak said that he had appeared before NAB more than once and there was nothing wrong in it. Shibli said PTI Senator Mohsin Aziz was also summoned by NAB and that there should be a mechanism ensuring the lawmaker’s dignity but none was above the law and accountability.
While, Opposition in the Senate grilled the government for keeping the House in the dark about the Pakistan-backed talks between the United States and Taliban, forcing Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla to summon Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to brief the Senate on this matter.
Mandviwalla, who chaired the sitting, directed the foreign minister to brief the House during the current session on US-Taliban talks, as well as the prime minister’s visits to other countries. This direction came after former chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani said that the Parliament had become virtually dysfunctional, as no government minister had given any policy statement on floor of the National Assembly and or the Senate on the talks between US and Taliban.
Rabbani noted that Prime Minister Imran Khan, who traveled to Saudi Arabia twice and UAE, but no policy statement was made on the floor of the House about these visits and the agreements signed despite the assurance given by the government that it would take all the decisions by taking the Parliament into confidence.
He asserted, “It seems as if the Parliament has become dysfunctional as all the statements of foreign minister reach us through press conferences or the newspapers. At present, some important events are taking place i.e. Pakistan-aided dialogue between US and Taliban took place, about which we got to know through an out of Parliament statement of the prime minister”.
Rabbani also emphasised that the Parliament must be told about foreign minister’s two trips to Saudi Arabia, after which he had stated that Pakistan would defend Saudi Arabia under all circumstances, adding the Parliament wanted to know whether it was a defence pact and under which condition the economic package was given.
“Similarly, the PM made two trips to UAE, and he also went to China, but we only heard through the media that they have left an economic team in China which was working out and within a week, we will get the details but till date, we’ve got nothing,” he said.
Earlier, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan came under attack, as Opposition lawmakers objected to the details provided by him on recent gas loadshedding in Sindh, forcing the chair to refer the matter to concerned committee of House to ascertain the reasons behind it.
Mandviwalla stopped the minister from speaking further, saying the way he was narrating things showed there had been no issue of gas in Sindh at all. With this, the Opposition members stood up on their seats and demanded of the chair to refer the issue to committee, which he did.
Speaking on a calling attention notice moved by Senators Kabeer Shahi, Sherry Rehman, Ateeq Sheikh and Sassui Palijo on shortage of gas supply to Balochistan and recent gas crisis in Sindh, the minister said that gas crisis was created artificially.
He said that on merit order, LNG is at number 3 followed by coal and furnace oil, adding the consumption of furnace oil production has reduced due to which it started overflowing, resulting in 60-65 percent reduction of Attock refinery, Parco and other oil refineries came own. “Due to surplus stock of furnace oil, we banned its import and allowed them to export… made alternate arrangements, as some surplus stock was lifted by PSO while some was given to IPPs for the time being till it is exported,” he added.
He said that power sector did not consume furnace oil, as power sector has shifted from furnace oil to LNG, due to which production of field was reduced both in north and south which resulted in energy crisis in Sindh. “Zero-rated industry of Sindh was hundred percent on indigenous gas and will remain so. General industry was 100 percent on indigenous gas and will remain so and the sufferer was captive, with which we held a detailed discussion at Sindh Governor House where all the industrialists were present,” he added.
“We placed the shortfall before them and they principally agreed that 50 percent domestic, zero-rated, general industry…no curtailment [and] if there is any problem that is captive, as we held another meeting the next day and they again agreed in principle that they would use 50 percent indigenous gas and 50 percent alternate energy,” he contended.
On a calling attention notice pertaining to a separate secretariat for CCI, Rabbani, who did not mention the name of his former colleague Ishaq Dar, who is self-imposed exile in UK, said that the finance ministry under PML-N government had been creating hurdles in establishment of a separate secretariat of the Council of Common Interest (CCI). He said that he had all the details as to how the finance ministry had been creating hurdle in setting up a separate CCI secretariat, adding he would share all the details in the House and the concerned standing committee.
Since the minister for Inter Provincial Coordination could not make it to the House due to ailment, the chairman referred the issue to standing of Senate on Devolution on the request of Rabbani.
