Acting Chairman of the Senate Khalilur Rehman is sometimes absolutely unforgiving. On Tuesday, when the House was called to order, Industries Minister Jehangir Khan Tareen was not there to answer the very first question. "I notice with dismay that none of the concerned ministers is here ... it would be a dead session," he intoned. The newly appointed chief whip Kamil Ali Agha took an offence of the Chair's observation because, according to him, when the timing of the sitting for Tuesday was fixed majority of members had left. That perceptional mismatch apparently set the tone for the sitting.
At one point when Tareen was justifying paying huge salary and perks to the chairman of the Pakistan Steel Mills, the Chair made the cryptic remark: "See that the Prime Minister doesn't know of this, otherwise he would leave his job and join the Steel Mills."
The question hour lasted more than an hour, with government's policy about car manufacturing in the country and affairs of the Steel Mills at the centre stage. Tareen was hard put to the difficult task of explaining why the people have to pay the so-called 'on money' on purchase of new vehicles and why there is a ban on the import of used cars. But he made clear that in the ambience of market economy the government couldn't dictate prices.
To the question why cars are relatively cheaper in India, the minister argued that is because the India's industrial sector is more advanced. Asked why Pakistan's Engineering Development Board cannot force Toyota manufacturers to improve the brake mechanism of its cars, the minister promised he would speak to the Toyota people. In reply to another question the minister informed the house that the board is being revamped and fresh blood would be injected into it.
Resumption of debate on the bill seeking amendments to the PPC and the CrPC, popularly known as the 'Karo-Kari' bill, was taken up as soon as the question hour was over with a short invention of points of order, one of which was raised by PPP's Raza Rabbani.
He asserted that the report in a section of the press that during his visit to the Senate on Monday Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz made a formal offer of talks to the opposition. "I want to make it clear that it was only a handshake and nothing more."
Asked why Raza Rabbani had to make this clarification, a PPP leader noted that his leadership wants to say that all this talk about behind-the-scenes contacts between the PPP and the government is nothing but a crap.
But the need for a dialogue between political entities is essence of democracy, and one person who is crusading for such a dialogue is Senator Mushahid Hussain.
He received today a packet of "dry-fruit mixed Peshawari 'gur' from Asfandyar Wali Khan.
"If there can be a dialogue with India then why not here ... country needs a healing touch," he told reporters in the corridor. However, he is not prepared to concede that "leadership in exile" has a role to play in that.
"The leadership is here, siting in the Parliament." But Asif Ali Zardari has yet to phone up Mushahid Hussain who pleaded for the release of "political prisoners" including Zardari.
"The bridge too far" - is how someone in the same corridor described President Musharraf's oft-repeated stance about shedding or retaining uniform. The President had said: "We will cross the bridge when we come to it."
Keeping up his ambivalence, a member, having seen the things from a much closer distance, advised, "keep your fingers crossed". You mean to say that on an issue as crucial as keeping the uniform or the president would be guided by spontaneity instead of hard thinking, he was asked. Yes, it would be spontaneous.
At least twice in our history - once when Ayub Khan lifted emergency and then when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto wrapped up martial law - the decision was spontaneous, the member recalled. That means President Musharraf will shed his uniform, he was asked. "Yes," he replied.