The government received on Monday another blow in the National Assembly when the opposition blocked its bid to take through the house a bill aimed at providing legal cover and support to Shaukat Aziz administration's privatisation policy.
Treasury member Mehnaz Rafi, however, acted 'smartly' and saved the government from a yet another 'registered' defeat by announcing an early and surprised adjournment.
She was presiding over the sitting in the absence of Speaker Amir Hussain.
Mehnaz adjourned till Tuesday morning the session smelling a possible defeat for the government after several opposition members started walking out of the house moments before the bill was to be laid for the passage.
It looked they had planned to point out quorum as treasury members were short in number to meet the requirement.
It was not for the first time that the government was either defeated or was forced to 'use all of its weapons' to escape one narrowly after Shaukat Aziz became the Prime Minister.
The 'Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organisation) (Amendment) Bill, 2005 was moved by Federal Information Technology Minister Awais Leghari.
Leghari said the bill was meant to provide legal cover and support to the policy the government had initiated especially in telecom sector.
He attributed a steep rise in the number of mobile phone users in the country to what he described investor-friendly and well-thought-out privatisation policy of the government.
The opposition members, however, didn't agree with the minister as they accused the government of pursuing what they called a blind and over aggressive privatisation policy.
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal's Farid Paracha said the increase in the number of mobile phone users was not some thing the government should be upbeat about.
For him, the mobile phone was an extra burden on poors' kitty and also had some 'harmful' social implications as it was emerging as a threat for a sacred Muslim-typed family system.
But Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Aitzaz Ahsan didn't look to be interested in whether mobile users were increasing or not. His concern was what he said a poor quality of most of the service providing outfits that often resulted in sort of mental agony for the consumers.
For him the provision of basic facilities like any sort of communication was the basic responsibility of the government in a welfare state. The PPPP member asked the government to pursue a 'controlled and limited' privatisation policy.
The government must improve law and order situation and evolve a transparent regulatory mechanism for attracting foreign investment was the suggestion he came up with.
His party colleague Murtaza Sati said foreign investors were running out with the money and a very little was being contributed by them to strengthen Pakistan's economy.
Another 'dark' aspect of the present government's privatisation deals was that the private owners were firing a good numbers of employees from their-owned outfit and the revelation irked MMA's Muhammad Hussain Mehanti.
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