Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Monday said that he would brief the house about Reko Diq gold and copper mining project controversy in an in-camera session as promised by him when he was minister for petroleum in Sharif administration. In April, the government had agreed to give an in-camera briefing to the Senate about a ruling of an arbitration tribunal of the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in relation to denial of a mining lease to Reko Diq project in 2011.
The ICSID's ruling came after Tethyan Copper Company Limited (TCC), a joint venture of Antofagasta and Barrick, filed an arbitration claim against Pakistan for unlawfully denying a mining lease for the Reko Diq project. The chairman Senate asked the prime minister to inform him about his availability so that the secretariat could place the issue on the agenda of the day during the ongoing session of Senate.
PM Abbasi, unlike his predecessor Nawaz Sharif, turned up in Senate that was largely appreciated by chairman Senate as well as opposition benches, terming the move a step towards becoming a 'tradition breaker.' It was first Senate session after Abbasi took over as prime minister on August 01, and his participation in the session of the Upper House of the Parliament came quite surprising as former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif hardly paid a visit to Senate during his four-and-a-half-year stint.
"The chair reserved for leader of the house [prime minister] looks good when the person who deserves this seat gives respect to its sanctity. Though we are very happy with Raja Zafarul Haq, who is leader of the house in Senate, yet the prime minister who is leader of the house has no replacement," said Aitzaz Ahsan, leader of the house in Senate.
In the same breath he continued that the way new prime minister honored the Senate by attending its first session after taking over the charge of his office, the house will expect he would prove himself to be the tradition breaker - a clear reference to his predecessor who seldom turned up to the Senate.
The Senate welcomed the new prime minister and stated that importance to Upper House of the Parliament by the Prime Minister will certainly strengthen the federation, adding under the rules the premier is supposed to attend Senate session once a week. "I'm hopeful that your government will play its due role in strengthening the democratic process and the empowerment of the Parliament," he added. He drew the attention of the Prime Minister towards tracheotomy of power and expressed hope that his government would ensure equal power among all the stakeholders as envisaged in the Constitution of Pakistan.
Taking part in the discussion on a motion on women rights Senator Farhatullah Babar drew attention of the Prime Minister towards the plight of a section of women who, he said, are the "most wretched and most unfortunate" even among the women who were generally dispossessed, deprived and most discriminated. "Mr. Prime Minister I wish to draw your attention towards the women whose brothers, sons, husbands and fathers have disappeared mysteriously without a trace in Balochistan, Sindh, FATA and KP and all doors are shut on them," he said addressing the PM who also attended the session briefly.
Acknowledging that the new prime minister has started on a positive note, he asked Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to pay heed to the recent report of the Senate Committee of the Whole recommending measures to address the issue of missing persons in the country. All the 104 members of Senate have recommended unanimously adopting legislation to bring the state agencies under the ambit of the law as advised also by the Supreme Court, he said. Unless the issue of missing persons, which has affected women the most, is addressed in right earnest, all talks of empowering women or addressing their issues will be futile, he said.
Speaking on another motion moved by Senator Sherry Rehman on devaluation of rupee, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla asked the government to stop interference in matters of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). He said, "The government had intentionally devalued rupee against the dollar, adding there could not be a huge spread between dollar and rupee. The government rate was Rs 104 but in the market, the dollar was being sold at Rs 107. This is simply not possible. There could hardly be 50 paisa spread or maximum Rs 1 in official and market rates. When there is Rs 3-4 difference [in dollar and rupee], it means there is something wrong," he added. He said that the issue was adjusted by the SBP, which upset the Ministry of Finance, and it warned of an inquiry, adding there could be no inquiry against the regulator [SBP], and the SBP had taken the right decision. He also said that the Finance Ministry knew it could not hold any inquiry against the SBP, adding when the SBP adjusted the dollar, it came down to Rs 106, which was the right decision.
However, responding on behalf of the Finance Ministry, Commerce Minister Pervez Malik said that the inquiry against the SBP is still going on and it will be made public once it is completed. Rabbani said that the inquiry was supposed to be completed within ten days and there should be no further delay, adding it should be made public as soon possible.
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