For the first time in the parliamentary history, the Senate will have a special pre-budget session soon, enabling lawmakers to discuss the 2006-07 budget implementation and make proposals for the new one.
The Leader of the House, Senator Wasim Sajjad, and Leader of the Opposition, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, would discuss the strategy and propose a date for summoning of the session. It is expected in the last week of February.
The Acting Chairman Senate, Jan M Jamali, allowed a volley of points of order, as was done on Monday, during which the journalist fraternity walked out of the Press Gallery against the missing of a senior journalist Sohail Qalandar from Peshawar.
Jokingly, he remarked," Every year kilos of budget copies are sent to us, but we don't understand them. We should be given some lessons".
Senator Anwar Bhinder of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, on a point of order, pointed out that the budget had never been a reflection of the popular will and that the bureaucracy would prepare it and get it stamped from the National Assembly and the Senate.
"The parliamentarians never have the opportunity to alter even a comma or full-stop of the money bill. So, there is a need to hold a special session so that budget proposals could be floated in time and duly incorporated in the budget," he emphasised.
Supporting the proposal, Ilyas Bilour of Awami National Party said that the House should have a lengthy session, as trade deficit was about to cross $12 billion, industrial sector was showing poor performance.
PML Senator Haroon Akhtar pointed out that in the United States, budget proposals were given to the government some eight months before the budget presentation, whereas, back in the country, parliamentarians were given hardly 14 days.
Likewise, he suggested that the government should make a budget law so that within its parameters, the money bill could be prepared. He also insisted that there should be a mid-term review of the budget by the House to assess whether or not the allocations were being properly used and that the government should seek prior permission if over-spending was required.
He opposed the practice of seeking approval from the National Assembly for supplementary grants, saying this was not being exercised in any part of the world.
Some members from across the aisle, called for coaching of Senators on how to read the budget. Senator Ahmed Ali also supported the idea.
Leader of the House Wasim agreed to hold a special session in March, but said that the House Standing Committee on Finance should make arrangements for teaching of senators. Later, it was decided that he would consult Rabbani on when to propose summoning of the session.
Meanwhile, the chair referred a privilege motion, moved by Rabbani to the House standing committee. He had contended that State Minister for Defence Khalid Lund had misled the House by denying the bifurcation of the Civil Aviation Authority.
The matter was taken up on Monday, but the chair Khalid Ranjha had reserved his ruling. Replying to a calling attention notice, the minister had categorically rejected the opposition's contention about CCA bifurcation.
At the start of proceedings, the presence of senators in the House was sparse. Likewise, there was hardly a visitor in the galleries. But, interestingly, the business was quite productive.
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