Government criticised for not completing 90 days session

The combined opposition in Senate on Monday lambasted the government for not allowing the House to complete 90 days in the year as well as without having address to the joint house session by the President mandatory under the constitution.
The opposition dominated the day as acting chairman senate Jan Muhammad Jamali referred two privilege motions to the concerned standing committee moved by the opposition members against the government for not allowing the Upper House to meet for 90 mandatory days in parliamentary calendar.
Mian Raza Rabbani of PPP and Professor Khursheed Ahmed of MMA had submitted a privilege motion against the government for breaching the privilege of the Upper House. Raza Rabbani said that the government has clearly violated the parliamentary rules by not allowing the House to complete its total 90 days as it has met only 35 days so far and the calendar year is to be completed on March 12.
He said the government had not allowed both the National Assembly and Senate to complete its minimum mandatory days he added and it shows regime's intention to make the Parliament 'redundant'.
He said that England was in war but the British parliament was in session. "If the standing committees' meetings took place regularly then what was the reason that the senate could not meet," Rabbani questioned. He also spoke on the issue of president's address to the joint sitting of the parliament, saying he did not perform his constitutional duty to address the joint sitting in the beginning of every parliamentary year.
Speaking on the occasion, Law Minister Syed Afzal Haider underlined the factors that resulted in delay in summoning the session, contending that opposition should have requisitioned the session if the government failed to do so but they did not act as well.
Professor Khursheed Ahmed said parliaments around the world meet throughout the year to make legislation. He said 90 percent of the legislation was done through ordinances whereas the parliament was allowed to contribute hardly 10 percent in the legislation work. He said even the appointment of caretaker premier Mohammedmian Soomro who is chairman of the Senate was also unconstitutional.