This has reference to the editorial published in the daily "Business Recorder" on l2th May, under the caption "What is the reason for disinterest." Our President has found a precious jewel in the person of Shaukat Aziz and installed him as Prime Minister to ensure converting the country into a model welfare state.
The Prime Minister has been given a free hand to have a huge cabinet of 60 ministers plus ministers of state, parliamentary secretaries and Chairmen of different house committees, totalling as many as 138 MNAs/Senators.
They are a heavy burden on the exchequer of our poor country. Still they care little to simply attend the National Assembly sessions, in order to maintain the small quorum of 86 out of the a total strength of 342 members.
Besides, our kind government keeps on enhancing the salaries and other perks of all these blue-eyed boys and their younger brothers and sisters on one pretext or other.
Forget about their incapability of making any contribution towards reducing poverty, improving conditions of education, health and overall environmental sectors, they are least interested to make sure their attendance in the assembly sessions, thereby hindering business by causing breach of quorum. They are in fact a group of comfort-loving people incapable of rendering any service to the nation, looking always towards seeking personal benefits, eg foreign trips at state expense and additional funds for self-development.
Is this the type of people our President is banking upon to bring about a change for the good? Is this how our President is going to ensure good governance or bring about Khushhali in the country?
Life of poor countrymen has become extremely miserable, people are committing suicide for they cannot make both ends meet due to joblessness and ever-increasing dearness. I think our President will agree with me that it is high time to do away with such useless stuff and reduce burden on state exchequer.
Along with them, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who has accepted the demand of these parliamentarians for allowing them pleasure trips of foreign lands of their choice at state expense and also cash award of 2.5 million rupees if simply they are able to mark their attendance in the assembly sessions just 60 times out of 100, should also be shunted out.
This wise man has not the least idea of what this will cost to the poor public which is going to get nothing in return. On the contrary, the poor people will be asked to pay more taxes for feeding these white elephants.
Can we ask our dear President to say if he is still satisfied with the performance and conduct of these parliamentarians? I presume he will strongly dislike their conduct.
If so, he certainly would decide to do away with them. Also make them pay back the cost of all pecuniary benefits availed of by them so far.