FROM A RINGSIDE SEAT

Fully reflective of the chaotic conditions that we live today as a polity the National Assembly on Monday dealt with myriad issues ranging from long beards of the PAF flyers to food-for-oil kickbacks to Rs 11 billion Wapda bill outstanding against the tribal areas.
Such a rich agenda hardly leaves time enough for legislation but could House skip over these juicy matters. Of course it is possible but only if the members decided to come to the parliament more often and sit longer hours.
As the House was called to order on Monday morning--more in order to create a bridge between two holidays to ensure uninterrupted flow of allowances than in pursuance of passion, if any, to strengthen democracy--it was short of quorum.
Soon after the recitation of Holy Quran the MQM member Kanwar Khalid Yunus wanted the House to offer 'Fateh" for the victims of stampede in Karachi the day before. But almost simultaneously some members from Fata asked for prayers for those killed in military operation in their constituencies.
That confronted a dilemma for Speaker Amir Hussain: He had no objection to offering 'Fateh' for the unfortunate victims of stampede but how dare he console the Fata members. "I will follow the rules. No prayers for anybody except a present or dead members or his blood relations". By then PPPP's Shagufta Jummani had pointed out lack of quorum.
Only 79 members were present and thus proceedings were suspended, the suspension lasted half an hour - to the amusement of a group of US senators and representatives who sat in the speaker's box.
The question hour was breezing, in that water and power minister Liaquat Jatoi acquired a weird expertise in offering very convincing answers even to the toughest supplementary questions. Asked why upgradation of Mamadgat (Fata) grid station was delayed, his reply was you give me even one billion out of the outstanding 11 billions and things would start moving.
But the problem is that the Wapda people cannot go there, and that has continued for 26 years. But a member from the Fata contested the minister's claim and challenged him to sit with him and do settle the account, adding the Wapda employees directly deal with industrialists against hefty payments and so wires were never snapped.
As soon as the question hour closed a number of members sought catching the speaker's eye for points of order. But the chair decided to take up four identical adjournments motions moved by the MMA members on the report in a Karachi magazine that five employees of the Pakistan Air Force including a squadron leader were punished for keeping beard. Yes, that is true, conceded parliamentary secretary for defence Tanvir Hussain.
Giving details he said squadron leader Mohsin Hayat Ranjha was asked to trim his flowing beard as it violated the code of conduct but he refused to do so, and even succeeded in persuading four others to keep long breads. Asserting that long beard does not get into the oxygen mask, which the pilot has to wear while flying at very high altitudes the secretary said the concerned PAF employee was warned, but he did not heed and was consequently grounded.
The speaker reserved its ruling on the question whether to allow fuller debate on this issue.
It was now PPPP's turn. Its members rejected as witch-hunt the NAB allegation that Benazir Bhutto had received kickback in the UN-sponsored oil-for-food programme. Given international sensitivity of the issue - in India, it cost Natwar Singh his cabinet post - the PPP members forcefully rejected the allegation against their leader, and demanded probe into the deals by three local firms who they alleged made the easy buck with active support of the present government.
These firms, they said, paid something like four million dollars to Saddam Hussein. But their claim was stoutly contested by Ali Akbar Vaince and population minister Shahbaz Hussain, leading to rumpus when allegations and counter-allegations flew across the aisle. Then the PPPP members staged a token walkout from the House.
"He is neither in our custody nor we know about his present whereabouts."
Interestingly, a lot is said about the questions that come up for discussion in the House. But there is always another set of questions, called 'Unstarred Questions and their Replies", that are only tabled but not discussed.
Quite often these are insignificant. But sometimes they throw up valuable information. For instance, the one in today's unstarred set revealed that first feasibility report on Kalabagh Dam was prepared by Tipton and Hill in 1956; second by Chas T. Main in 1966; third by Associated Consulting Engineers in 1975; and fourth by Kalabagh Consultants (with the help of World Bank) in 1988.
The last was joint effort of Binnie and Partners (England), Hazara Engineering Co (USA), Preece and Cardew and Rider Ltd, Associated Consulting Engineers (ACE) and Nespak. Total expenditure on the studies of Kalabagh Dam project is about Rs 1 billion. World Bank, UNDP experts, Wapda and others reviewed these reports.
The House will now meet on Wednesday to discuss the unforgiving price hike of essential commodities.