The National Assembly Standing Committee on Government Assurances on Thursday took serious notice of the continuous absence of Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan from the committee meeting.
The committee unanimously decided to bring the matter to the notice of the Prime Minister and Speaker National Assembly, saying that if the ministers and government officials are not obeying the directives of the parliamentary committees the government should have to abolish the committees by amending the Constitution.
The chairman of the committee Muhammad Hayat Khan Tochi, chairing the meeting showed grave concern over the absence of Law Minister Babar Awan, who on February 12, in response to a question of MNA Raja Muhammad Asad Khan assured the house that the government would thoroughly probe Capital Development Authority (CDA) investment in stock exchange without lawful authority.
The committee also discussed the assurance given by Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Minister for Labour and Manpower on behalf of Minister for Interior on December 21, 2010 on the floor of the House, that a report on the registration of false cases against PPP MNA Jamshed Ahmed Khan Dasti and 81 other people would be presented in the House within 10 days. The committee regretted that despite the passage of almost two months the concerned authorities have presented nothing concrete neither before the committee nor in the parliament. Jamshed Dasti MNA from District Muzaffargarh was allegedly involved in an attack on doctors of District Headquarters Hospital, Muzaffargarh on May 24, 2010.
The Committee has directed Ministry of Interior to resolve Jamshed Dasti's grievances within 30 days and submit comprehensive report to the committee. The Chairman observed that the ministers and officials were not taking committee directives seriously, saying that the committee has requested Law Minister Babar Awan time and again to appear before the committee, but he has not shown any interest.
The committee members including Shahnaz Sheikh Woman MNA of Pakistan Muslim League PML-Q, Raja Muhammad Asad Khan and others staged token walk out on the absence of the minister. The committee directed Ministers for Finance and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to attend the next meeting positively along with other relevant officials. The meeting was attended by Malik Shakir Bashir Awan, Dr Zil-e-Huma, Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan, Dr Sumaira Yasir, Sahibzada Muhammad Fazal-e-Karim, Chaudhry Zahid Iqbal, Sardar Muhammad Israr Tareen, Begum Shahnaz Sheikh, Jamshed Dasti, Raja Muhammad Asad and Abdul Ghafoor Chaudhry.
Comments
Comments are closed.