ISLAMABAD: Federal government on Wednesday came under sharp criticism in the Senate not only from the opposition but also from the treasury lawmakers for the recent fuel price hike and for “abruptly” convening the house’s session without prior intimation.
“This is the height of injustice meted out to the people by this “imported government”,” said Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem, while speaking on the floor of the house.
The senator categorically questioned the motive behind increasing the fuel prices at a time when the fuel prices were witnessing a downward trend worldwide.
“This government is leaving no stone unturned to increase the miseries of the masses by giving it economic shocks,” the opposition leader deplored at the first sitting of the 320th session.
“This government is all about fascism. The voices of descent are being supressed and silenced,” he lamented.
“If a television channel criticises this government, it is shut down, if a journalist criticises this government, he is abducted, and if a political worker does the same, he is mercilessly tortured,” Waseem said.
Citing the example of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill who was picked by Islamabad Police on August 9 for his controversial remarks regarding the military, the opposition leader said, every citizen of Pakistan is constitutionally entitled to the right to a fair trial.
“But unless you don’t break the glass door of someone’s car before kidnapping him, your ego is not satisfied,” he said in an obvious reference to security authorities.
He also lambasted the government for obtaining Gill’s another physical remand from the court, which, he said, has been done to torture him to extract false confessions.
“A heinous conspiracy is in place to pit the country’s largest political party against the military,” the lawmaker alleged.
Treasury Senator Irfan Siddiqui from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supported the opposition’s protest against the fuel price hike.
“No matter what we say—the thing is, we cannot defend this price hike, let’s be very honest,” Siddiqui said, adding that the government should find a way out of this situation in the wake of massive suffering caused to the public due to inflation.
Siddiqui pointed out that the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2022 that he moved in the Senate (that aimed to abolish the magistracy powers of government authorities in the jurisdiction of Islamabad Capital Territory was passed by the Senate on May 23 and the National Assembly on June 8 but the bill suddenly “disappeared” without being signed into law by the president.
“There are two places where this bill can possibly be; Senate Secretariat or presidency. The presidency has denied having received this bill—it means this bill is gathering dust in a rusty cupboard of your office,” Siddiqui addressed Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani, who was presiding over the house sitting.
Sanjrani responded that bill was passed by the NA after it was passed by the Senate, which, he said, meant that “we did our work and sent this bill to the NA.”
Siddiqui responded that the bill originated from Senate and it was the responsibility of the Senate Secretariat to find out where this bill was. The chairman said he would ensure that the bill was located.
Former chairman Senate Raza Rabbani from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said there was no need to “summon the Senate session in haste.”
The senators should be given sufficient time to be able to attend the session, he added.
Rabbani expressed concern over the reports that the government intended to sell the shares of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York and the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
Leader of the House in Senate Azam Tarar termed the former PTI government as responsible for the economic crisis faced by the country presently.
He said the increase in petroleum prices is a “tough decision and the government has taken this decision with a heavy heart.”
He defended Gill’s arrest, saying that the PTI leader was arrested “because he attacked the state institutions with impunity.”
Mushtaq Ahmad Khan from Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) said the fuel price hike is “anti-public and economic terrorism,” while strongly condemning this move.
PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan said Gill committed a “serious mistake” by making controversial remarks regarding the military. “He should not have given such a statement under any circumstances—this kind of statement is just unacceptable,” he added. The house was adjourned till today (Thursday).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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