The senators from the treasury and the opposition benches on Monday appreciated the signing of the United States-Taliban Peace Agreement, while demanding a briefing from Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the matter. "This is a very welcome development," said treasury Senator Muhammad Ali Saif, the Parliamentary Leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) during Senate session.
The discussion on the said agreement was not part of the Senate session that was summoned on Friday on a requisition moved by the joint opposition but Saif insisted to take the floor and share views on the matter.
"This is a very crucial matter and it should be discussed here. The signing of the Peace Agreement between the US and Taliban is a milestone achieved and we have played a vital role in this regard. All the credit goes to our government and the security institutions who have ensured a peaceful way forward in Afghanistan, while safeguarding Pakistan's national interests." Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Parliamentary Leader in Senate Sherry Rehman also welcomed the agreement, asking the foreign minister to brief the house on the matter.
"We should not forget that the credit goes to the previous governments, the PPP in particular, under whose government, the efforts for peace in Afghanistan gained a tremendous momentum," she said, while mentioning the role she played as Pakistan's then ambassador to the US as part of Pakistan's efforts to bring peace in Afghanistan.
Former chairman Senate Raza Rabbani strongly criticised the foreign minister for addressing a press conference on the US-Taliban Peace Agreement without first taking the Parliament into confidence.
"The foreign minister held a press conference on this agreement. The statements he made during the press conference should have been made on the floor of the house. It's highly unfortunate that this government does not take the Parliament seriously at all."
Rabbani also strongly criticised PM's Advisor on Finance and Revenue Hafeez Shaikh for not briefing the Parliament on certain aspects of Pakistan's agreement with the IMF.
"On Friday, we sought a briefing from the advisor but he is not here to brief us. This is absolute disregard for the Parliament."
Leader of the Opposition in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq said, "There are some serious questions regarding the US-Taliban Peace Agreement that need to be answered. It would be better if the foreign minister comes here and brief the house on the agreement to address our queries."
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Azam Swati endorsed the opposition's demand regarding foreign minister's briefing on the US-Taliban Agreement.
"The leader of the house is trying to reach out to foreign minister and check if he can make himself available to brief the house today," he said.
"The briefing would be arranged today or tomorrow. But, apart from that, no one can deny the significance of this agreement. This Peace Agreement has been a milestone achieved in our best national interest." Leader of the House in Senate Shibli Faraz said, "The signing of this agreement is a big development. We can hold a comprehensive debate on this issue tomorrow." The discussion on the Pak-US agreement was not part of the Senate's scheduled agenda.
"This is the reason that it is difficult for foreign minister to brief the house on the matter today. But he can brief the house tomorrow for sure," he said.
Meanwhile, the opposition rejected the reduction of Rs 5 in petrol prices and demanded of the government to further reduce the fuel prices.
"The government has burnt another hole in the pockets of the poor citizens of this country with an extortionate increase of up to 106 per cent in petrol levy. It appears that by reducing petrol prices by a negligible Rs 5 they were just laying the groundwork for dropping the levy bomb that will send prices of several commodities across the country soaring," Sherry Rehman said.
The 296th session of the Senate, which was prorogued on Monday, was summoned by Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani on Friday on a requisition moved by the joint opposition.
The session had six-point agenda to discuss: the legality and constitutionality of ordinances that have been laid in the National Assembly and not in the Senate; security and political developments in the region, especially in the Indian Occupied Kashmir; continuing political victimization of the opposition; gas and power scarcity in the domestic and industrial sectors; the price hike resulting in unbearable burden on the common man; and devastating daily occurrences of crimes against children in Pakistan.
From Tuesday (today) President Arif Alvi has summoned the 297th session of the senate, which would meet at 3pm.
Comments
Comments are closed.