Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Thursday asked the government to allow the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to resume domestic flights in order to facilitate parliamentarians' travelling to capital during the coronavirus lockdown.
After visiting the Senate to review the situation as what could be done to ensure social distancing if the session is convened, Sanjrani said that restoring the domestic flights to facilitate members of both houses of the parliament is a must to ensure their attendance.
"The members who will have to travel to Islamabad [from Balochistan, and Sindh] to attend the session of Senate and National Assembly would not be able to make it here without opening of the domestic flight operations," he said.
Sanjrani said that domestic flight operations would have to be resumed with foolproof precautionary measures to avert the spread of the novel coronavirus as the least "we can do top avoid further spread of COVID-19 is social distancing."
After the government summoned the National Assembly session on May 11, the opposition parties in the Senate also submitted a requisition on May 6, to summon the Senate to discuss COVID-19 outbreak and its impacts on economy, national security and foreign policy.
The requisition was submitted with the Senate Secretariat under Articles 54 (3) and 61 of the Constitution by 34 members of all opposition parties in the Senate including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).
Under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate 2012, the chairman Senate is bound to summon the session on the requisition submitted by at least quarter members of the total strength of the house.
The house has presently 104 members.
The opposition has been pressing for convening the Senate session since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, but the government did not pay any heed to their demand, saying convening the session at a time when there is no let up in coronavirus cases, would be a potential source for further spreading the virus.
The opposition has also submitted an agenda along with requisition to be discussed in the session.
It says that house would discuss the federal government's policy on uniting the country at a time of serious emergency for Pakistan, and its implication on the democratic and constitutional governance of the federation, including the role of the parliament and its ongoing efficacy in the time of crisis.
"To coordinate clear, consistent healthcare responses for saving lives across the federation and international border crossings, with decisions based on transparent sharing of medical data amid an alarming rise in the graph of COVID-19 cases," says the proposed agenda.
It also said that the house should make clear policies on the emerging economic crisis from the impact of pandemic on Pakistan's public finances, renegotiation of debt, the reallocation of the resources and the provision of urgent relief to the most vulnerable sections of the population.
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