Sahiwal killings: Senate opposition calls for judicial body

ISLAMABAD: Joint Opposition in the Senate on Tuesday proposed formation of a judicial commission to probe the Sahiwal killings while outright rejecting the joint investigation team.

Former chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani and PML-N Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi insisted the Senate should ensure that fair and transparent investigation must be conducted to fix responsibility for the horrendous incident. Leader of the House Shibli Faraz also called for punishing the culprits, involved in the gory act.

However, they contended that it was the prerogative of the government on how to go about making the entire process transparent, insisting the result of a JIT made of peers of those, who were involved in the incident, was quite obvious.

After passage of so many days, Rabbani noted, crucial things were not shared with the forensic lab and now all of a sudden, suicide jackets and arms were sent to it but not those things, which the forensic lab was seeking.

Rabbani said that it was like how Rao Anwar, who was sent to jail, after having been used by the state but despite that he was at liberty. “After killings, such operations are carried out and files are stuffed to pass time and ultimate result is before you,” he said.

Earlier, State Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar informed the Senate that there was a revenue shortfall of Rs162 billion and not of Rs175 billion and firmly hoped that tax collection would significantly improve in remaining six months and this shortfall be covered.

Responding to a calling attention notice by PPP Senator Sherry Rehman, the minister counted various factors for the shortfall, including not jacking up tax on oil products above 17 per cent, unlike the previous regime, which had taken it up to 52 per cent.

The minister said they had brought down GST to two-and-a-half per cent rather and passed on the fall in oil rates in the world market to consumers. He said that though the government provided relief to masses, but it suffered loss of Rs60-70 billion.

He emphasised the government was committed to provide enabling environment for economic development in the country and added that the government did not opt for indirect taxation to avoid any additional burden on common man.

The minister hoped that revenue target of Rs4398 billion would successfully be achieved as the government would collect revenue through enforcing Device Identification, Registration, and Blocking System on new imported mobile sets and Gas Infrastructure Development Cess arrears. He said shortfall impact of the measures announced in the secondary Finance Bill was about Rs6.8 billion, which would be covered from allowing non-filers to purchase up to 1300 CC cars with enhanced tax ratio.

The minister did not agree with the opposition that the revenue shortfall would cause economic slowdown.