'PTI government trying to form elite group inside Parliament'

"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is trying to constitute an elite group inside the Parliament which consists of some ministers and advisors." Senator Raza Rabbani said this during the meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice.
"The government is setting up an elite group inside the Parliament," he said, adding that the parliamentary leaders, instead of the members of both the houses of the Parliament, were briefed by the country's top civil and military leadership on the security situation in an in-camera session in February.
Similarly, he said that the government has also convened a meeting of the parliamentary leaders to brief them on implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) but the opposition parties refused to attend it, which is positive move. "The trend to bypass the Parliament should come to an end," he said, adding if such a trend continues, the already redundant Parliament would not run. He warned if anything happens to the Parliament then nobody can save the federation. Chairman of the committee Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi expressed annoyance over the absence of Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Dr Muhammad Farogh Naseem from the meeting and postponed the meeting as a protest without discussing agenda. At the start of the meeting, Abbasi asked Secretary Law, former Justice Abdul Shakoor Paracha where the minister is.
On this the secretary replied that the minister told him that he will attend the meeting and he might come soon. "Should all the members of the committee go to the minister?" asked Abbasi satirically. "I cannot compel the minister to attend the meeting but can only request him," said the secretary. Rabbani suggested postponing the meeting due to absence of the minister.
"The minister and his ministry are not looking serious," he underlined, adding that the minister does not himself come to attend the meeting and then it is stated that the Parliament is not cooperating.
Abbasi said that following the request of the minister, the date of the meeting was changed from March 26 to April 4. PTI Senator Walid Iqbal said that he agreed that minister should have been here to attend the meeting but the conduct of a single person should not be linked to the government. "He (minister) might have some problem or may be on his way to the meeting," Iqbal added.