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Friday, June 21, 2013
Walkout in Senate over power price hikeBy Ijaz Kakakhel
ISLAMABAD: The opposition legislators in the Upper House of parliament staged a token walkout against Rs 1.17 per unit hike in power tariff.
Pointing out the increase in power tariff before the walkout, Senator Raza Rabbani said that this is the third hike in ten days and since the government of PML-N took over. He said the government was continuously increasing the tariff without giving electricity to the citizens. “Those who take decisions to raise power tariff on a daily basis have their vested interest as they own several IPPs,” Rabbani said. He also said the government is thinking about enhancing power tariff by up to 70 percent.
He then staged a token walkout from the House and the opposition lawmakers followed him. The opposition lawmakers lambasted the government for not taking parliament into confidence over Pakistan’s role in the dialogue launched between the US and Taliban leaders in Doha, Qatar. Speaking on a point of order, Senator Rabbani, who is the parliamentary leader of PPPP, said that it is strange that the leader of the House, Raja Zafarul Haq, has backtracked from a commitment he made in the House to brief it on Pakistan’s role in the negotiations.
“It is strange that the leader of the House had assured the House the other day that he would provide the details, but after consulting with the concerned quarters, it seems that he has backtracked from his commitment,” said Rabbani. He said that the leader of the House seemed reluctant in giving the House the exact timing and date when the government would brief it about this important issue which would have long-lasting implications for the country.
In response, Raja Zafarul Haq reiterated that he would arrange a briefing to the House over the issue, but added that the dialogue process is at an early stage and the House should wait for some significant development. He said that Pakistan has a role in the US-Taliban negotiations, but Islamabad has adopted a cautious approach because Afghan President Hamid Karzai seemed uncomfortable.
Rabbani again snubbed Haq, saying that everything is being reported in the media on this important issue and Pakistan’s key role. “It seems that you have changed your mind after consultations with the bureaucrat who has been appointed as adviser on foreign affairs,” he said. Meanwhile, PML-Q’s Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said that a report published in media on Thursday has mentioned the role of Pakistan so why were there doubts on taking the House into confidence on the issue.
He expressed surprise at US Secretary of State John Kerry’s exclusion of Pakistan from his visit to the region. “I do not understand why he has cancelled his visit to Pakistan despite Pakistan’s significant role in the dialogue process, and has preferred to visit India rather”. “Foreign policy is key for the nation and both the government and the opposition should be on the same page,” he maintained.
Later, initiating the debate, former finance minister Saleem H Mandviwala said that ten percent increase in the salaries of the government employees does not meet inflation. He criticised the policy of giving access to the FBR officers to the bank accounts of citizens. He said that this is against the Economic Act-1992 and will damage the confidence of people. The senators urged the government to review the Finance Bill 2013-14 and allocate more funds for backward and ignored areas of the country. Taking part in the budget debate in Senate, Zafarullah Khan of the PML-N termed the Finance Bill poor-friendly, in which special focus had been laid on the youth.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk