Sanjrani approached to take action against minister, secretary over absence

Once again, a Senate panel, this time the Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas, approached Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani on Wednesday "to take action" over the absence of Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan and Secretary Energy Irfan Ali from the committee's meeting.

"The ministries and secretaries do not take the Parliament and its committees seriously. We are members of Parliament and they are repeatedly insulting us by not appearing before the meetings of the related committees," said Usman Kakar, the committee's chairman.

"The verbal rhetoric apart, the chairman Senate has to take some concrete action to ensure the presence of government functionaries at the committees' meetings. Otherwise, this entire exercise is useless," he said. The committee then intimated the chairman Senate in writing about the absence of the minister and the secretary from the committee meeting, asking him to take action.

This is not for the first time in the ongoing week the senators slammed the absence of government officials from the scheduled meetings of the relevant committees.

Earlier on Monday last, Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change, under the chair of Sitara Ayaz, slammed Advisor to Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam and Mayor of Islamabad Sheikh Anser Aziz for not attending the committee's meeting to brief the panel about steps the government is taking to curb deteriorating environmental standards in the federal capital.

On Tuesday last, Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, headed by Khushbakht Shujat, approached the chairman Senate with the demand 'to take action' against three top officials of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Minister of State for Health Dr Zafar Mirza, Secretary Health Dr Allah Baksh Malik and Director General (Health) Dr Assad Hafeez for not attending the committee's meeting. In an unusual move, the committee members visited the chairman Senate's chamber and demanded action against three health officials. Faced with the unexpected situation, the chairman Senate, although, assured the committee members that he would 'take to task' the health officials concerned, yet the chairman has no practical powers to proceed against any government official found involved in the breach of the privilege of the Parliament or its committees, and he can only recommend action to the government against those officials, sources in Senate Secretariat told Business Recorder.

Prior to this episode involving the absence of senior health officials from the committee meeting, the chairman Senate was irked by the absence of Secretary Interior Major Azam Suleman Khan (retd) for his absence from the Senate meetings.

Recently, however, the row between the chairman Senate and secretary interior has been finally resolved after the secretary interior has tendered an 'unconditional apology' to Sanjrani, which, he has immediately accepted, for remaining absent from Senate meetings.

A few days back, the chairman Senate had sent a letter to the secretary interior seeking explanation regarding his continued absence despite being summoned at the Senate proceedings but no response from the secretary or the Interior Ministry was received, it is learnt.

Apparently embarrassed, the chairman Senate last week urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to take action against the secretary interior, but did not receive a response from the Prime Minister's Office, sources in Senate Secretariat told Business Recorder.

According to sources, the chairman has finally heaved a sigh of relief after the secretary interior finally tendered an apology for his absence from the Senate, and the chairman has immediately accepted the apology while disposing of the matter, it is also learnt.