News

April 12 , 2017

Rabbani annoyed at incomplete information

Pension, privileges to army officers

ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani on Tuesday protested again in the Senate over not sharing complete information with the House regarding details of pension and other benefits admissible to officers of the rank of major general and above of the armed forces, asking if parliament was a charity house.

“Is parliament a charity house so that government departments would share only the information they would like to? This is absolutely not acceptable that information is shared in piecemeal,” he said during the Question-Hour when he found that again incomplete reply was given in response to a question asked by PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar.

Rabbani asserted that the money being paid to the retired officers belonged to the national exchequer and if the details regarding pays and privileges to Parliament were uploaded on the website, if they were sacred cows. “It is the privilege of Parliament that it should be provided with the requisite information,” he argued.

He wondered what kind of attitude was this that a notice was given on February 21 this year, it was kept pending on the government request for a month and then again taken and deferred in March, as incomplete information was provided in response to the question. “I am sorry this is not acceptable. Will they give information on the basis of charity?” he remarked, when State Minister for Interior Muhammad Balighur Rehman conceded that the reply given was incomplete.

Senator Babar sought again deferring of the question while seeking complete, transparent and truthful reply to his question, saying the minister of defence might respond to it next day. His question comprised three parts: seeking details of pension and other benefits admissible to the officers of the rank of major general and above of the Pakistan Army, the Navy and the Air Force on their retirement; the details of law or rules or executive order under which the pension and benefits are allowed to those officers and whether any officer (s) in the ranks of those forces had availed these benefits over and above those allowed by the law or rule during the last ten years, if so, the details and reasons thereof?

Referring to the written information given in response to his question by Minister of Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif, he pointed out that the details of land allotted to the military officers were also not shared with the House.

Rabbani wondered if a notice should be given to the authorities concerned for withholding information from the House. To another question, Baligh said that about 61 persons were brought back to Pakistan under the extradition treaties while three foreigners were extradited.

Replying to a question by PML-N Senator Abdul Qayyum, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said that the rail section from Mandra to Chakwal was also included in the study to see the viability of its revival and that expression of interest would be invited to build it on BOT basis.

 

Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk


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