The issue of Pakistan plunging from 34th to ninth position among the ' failed states' echoed in the National Assembly on Wednesday, but the government chose not to speak on the subject despite the opposition's grilling.
The House resumed debate on frequent loadshedding and power breakdowns after three days: it would be wound up on Thursday, and the identical motions on the latest increase in POL products' prices would be taken up for admissibility.
Unlike the government lawmakers, opposition members took the liberty during their speeches to vent their feelings on lawlessness, rising crime ratio and maladministration.
Taking part in the debate, Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians secretary general Raja Pervaiz Ashraf castigated the government for boasting of economic turnaround, breaking the begging bowl and good governance. "The country is facing multi-faceted crises."
He viewed useless debating the issue in the House and recalled that price-hike was discussed during the last session, but within four days, POL prices were increased and no measures were taken to give any relief to the masses.
"The end result of flawed policies is that Pakistan has attained 9th position among the failed states from its 34th position last year. The reason for this plunge has been described as snatching away the masses' rights, mutilation of the constitution and individual decisions," he contended.
He lamented that today Pakistan was lagging behind countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. "If the rulers can't safeguard the masses rights and provide them basic facilities, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif should be allowed to return and play their role in steering the country out of crises". He outrightly rejected the breaking of the begging bowl, saying lending was continuing uninterrupted.
The opposition lawmakers and journalists from the Press Gallery staged a token walkout against the non-implementation of the 7th Wage Award despite passage of resolutions by the Parliament and provincial assemblies and assurances given by the government.
PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain assured the journalists, who later returned to the Press Gallery that the process of negotiations would be revived within a week and he would also take Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on-board.
Shujaat made a rare appearance in the assembly. However, by and large presence of members was as usual thin. PML MNA Chaudhry Ejaz emphasised that construction of new dams was key to meeting the country's growing power requirements, saying the country needed 700-1000 megawatt additional power each year.
He pointed out that Pakistan needed 38,000-megawatt electricity, but there was a big shortfall in its production, which underscored early construction of new reservoirs. The lawmaker called for all-out support to President General Pervez Musharraf's Water Vision and exploring alternate resources to generate more power.
PPPP MNA Imtiaz Safdar Warraich questioned Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's recent statement that benefits of the government policies had started reaching the public, asking the people and the opposition was keen to know where were those benefits.
"Has ghee price come down? Cement prices rationalised or sugar rates brought down... where are the benefits? Where is the relief?" he questioned. Referring to power breakdowns and loadshedding in Karachi alone, he said that within a week, the industrial sector suffered Rs 40 billion losses and factories had reduced their working to one shift, adding to unemployment.
He said that the state of affairs was now out of the rulers' control, as indicated in the US Foreign Policy magazine report. The magazine termed the government's inability to police tribal belt, earthquake and simmering ethnic tensions as the key elements in the country's plunge in the list of 'failed states'. Bushra Sipra of the PML called for building more dams and penalising the power-stealing consumers. She said the culprits should be held accountable.
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal lawmaker Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, who is from Balochistan, decried the deprivation of power supply to his province, which heavily relied on agriculture. About the viewpoint that power supply suspension was due to blowing up of the installations in the province, he said that even if this is true, who is responsible for ensuring law and order and safeguarding them?
He alleged that the rulers spent lavishly in their own interest areas, otherwise, they leave the people to suffer. "People in Balochistan are facing military actions while on the other hand they are suffering from power suspension," he lamented.
PPPP's Abdul Ghani Talpur said that despite Prime Minister Aziz's promise during his recent visit to Karachi that smooth power supply would be ensured, the situation remained unchanged. He wanted to know whether the KESC was privatised for commission or bringing improvement in its functioning.
Farid Paracha of MMA proposed that there should be more onus on nuclear electricity production and the Wapda Act 1962 should be amended to save people from its cruelties. The MNA called for investigation into the Wapda losses, incurred during military control.
The ruling coalition MNA Abdul Qadir Khanzada recalled that the KESC was privatised to resolve the persistent problem of loadshedding in the port city, but the situation was the same as before. He cautioned that Karachiites were coming to roads in big numbers to agitate the long power breakdowns. He warned that some conspirators were trying to fail the government.
MMA's Maulana Abdul Malik saw solution of all issues in the implementation of Shariah and asked the rulers to take a U-turn on its pro-America policy.
The House will resume the debate on Thursday at 10 am.
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