Perturbed over the establishment failure to maintain law and order situation, Pakistan's female Senators on Thursday turned up with a unique demand, urging the government to relax rules for having arms license besides issuing license to female for their safety.
Speaking on a point of order, Simeen Siddiqui, a PML-Q Senator drew the attention of interior minister Rehman Malik to resolve arms license issue of female Senators, pending in the interior ministry for the last over one year. On the demand of female Senator, her male colleagues took it as a non-serious issue and started laughing, on which another female Senator Kalsoom Perveen stood up, lambasting the government for not co-operating with the female parliamentarians on arms licensing. "We [females] also don't feel secure...the lives of females are as precious as of males," she maintained.
She said that the lawmakers, who are the elected representative of people, had to get appointment a week earlier to meet the interior minister. "This is what we have to do for having a glimpse of the interior minister but meeting with the prime minister is a hard nut to crack," she lamented. She further said that the prime minister is so busy that he is unable to meet the Senators even in his chamber. "Some days back, we wanted to meet him but we were sent back with the assurance that we might get an opportunity within three to four months," she added.
In reply to the demand of the female Senators, interior minister Rehman Malik said that the time has come the 'whole country must be deweaponised to maintain law and order.' He went on saying that the parliamentarians must set an example by not keeping weapons.
The minister said that with devolution of ministries to the provinces, the power to issue arms licenses will go to provinces and only Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) will be in the jurisdiction of interior ministry.
Malik said that he is in favour of deweaponization, especially in big cities like Karachi and Lahore as people in developed countries are living peacefully without having weapons. He said the several weapons are being used under one license which shows the extent of misuse. He said that licenses are now being prepared with the help of National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to prevent the misuse.
Meanwhile, the legislators called for convening a roundtable conference to discuss issues and problems confronted to country and to chalk out a joint strategy to tackle these issues. Senator Ismail Baladi said that worsening law and order situation was affecting the investment. Highlighting the importance of Gwadar port, he said there was need to make it operation in order to boost activities in the region.
Ilyas Bilour of ANP said army and security agencies are responsible and respectable departments of the country and everyone should give them due regard. He said that these departments are serving day and night for the security of the nation and people should avoid saying anything against them.
Raza Rabbani said that third phase of devolution process will be completed by June 30. He assured that no employee of the devolved ministries will be fired or displaced. He said there is no issue of employees in the devolution process except the two departments NCHD and National Educational Foundation. He said the teachers of NCHD are not formally qualified therefore, they do not fit in the national pool.
The house was also informed about the successful agreements of importing electricity from Iran on low rates. Senators Lashker Raesani and Ismail Baladi, who were part of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) delegation that visited Iran to negotiate power imports on low tariff rates, informed the Senate about the agreements.
Baladi said that it was after three years that the agreement to import electricity for Makran Division was signed, saying that there was a dispute on tariff rates as Iran was offering electricity Rs 13 per unit while Pakistan wanted it at the rate of Rs 7.With our efforts, Iran has signed the agreement whereby it would provide electricity at as low rates as Rs 7 per unit, Baladi told the Senate.
In the successful talks, initially Iran would provide 35.7 mega watt (MW) electricity at Rs 7/unit to the Makran Division from the next month, Baledi said. Lashker Raesani told the Senate that an agreement under which Iran would provide 100 MW electricity to Gwader port in 6 months on the same rates was also signed on the occasion. He said that another agreement of 1000MW electricity import could be materialised within next one and a half years provided the Water and Power Ministry negotiates with Iranian government.
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