In its Monday sitting, the Senate Standing Committee on Finance finally decided to send 65 recommendations to the National Assembly for amendments in Finance Bill. One recommendation urges capital gains tax on the Stock Market.
One hopes that this recommendation would not bring the stock down, since reports did come in, that the KSE index was down 497 points at the close of trading, today (Monday). Yet Senator Enver Beg vehemently argued for companies listed on the Stock Market to be taxed since they were rich enough to bid for purchase of mega installations, such as the Steel Mills.
Even, otherwise, there enough punch lines for the Media in the Senate proceeding. One was provided by Haji Ilyas Bilour, who has lodged an application for registration of FIR against former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for disregarding a previous Senate Resolution that the margin of profit for multinational oil companies should be minimum, so that the public could purchase fuel at affordable price.
The proceeding began this morning with Abdul Ghafur and his horror story that the proxy war on terror fought on behalf of the Americans has gifted Pakistan with 2.5 million demented women and orphaned children. However, some Members are quite capable of discussing sublime issues and, at the same moment, descend to the frivolous.
Former judge and Minister for Local Government, Abdul Razak A. Thahim, dismissed the proposal of Kalabagh Dam in the interest of his Sindh province, but sought official blue passports for Senators and the VIP entry cards at airports after retirement.
The Senate Members supported his move. However, this former Judge, quoting the cases of reemployed secretaries, proposed that retired judges should be similarly re-employed. One does not whether such requests made in the House militates against parliamentary rules which fobbed Members speaking on a subject in which they have financial interests.
Gulshan Saeed, while complaining against vindictive measures to harass political workers of opposition parties suggested that such practices should be stopped. "Political workers are of the same kind in each party and why should any political party come down heavily on them after winning elections? Our PML-N-Q party, might have been trounced, but we could make a come back in the next election.' No one should quarrel with this argument. The Senate debate in any way was luck lustre
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: The National Assembly suffered from a number of limitations today, including low attendance. A number of MNAs were found reading texts rather than delivering speeches. This is not permissible according to Rules. Speaker Fehmida Mirza tried to put a stop to this habit but it seemed she could not enforce her ruling, in spite of the fact that debates made in the parliament inculcate respect and tolerance for contending views among members.
Members spoke and left. Treasury Members were present in the morning, in anticipation of a visit by the Prime Minister, but the Ministers left by the afternoon.
We also noticed a new design. PPP Members would applaud their co-chairman Asif Zardari for his judicious handling of the long march. PML-N MNAs pressing claims for the quick impeachment procedure to be brought in against President Musharraf who was ridiculed as a paper tiger.
In Wasim Akhtar's limerick Khol Utra to zahir hua/Tum Peshawar ho, sipahi nahee. (When you disrobe we know instantly that you are a mercenary, not a true soldier). In this vein, Palwasha Md Zai, made a rip roaring speech backing her arguments with quotations from Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto's latest book.
MQM parliamentary leader Farooque Sattar also quoted many verses. He spoke of the present times when politics drives economy. During his forceful speech, lasting well over an hour, he posed a question, which side of the coalition had prepared this document that promised no change, no reforms, and had widened the gulf between the rich and poor.
According to him, a roller coaster ride is the lot of the common man, now' we might mention that the MQM leader spoke after a MQM politician had joined the Sindh cabinet as Minister, in the morning. As such, if any taunt or innuendo were to be found in his speech, the target was quite obviously Nawaz Sharif. No one should accuse him of speaking a distasteful word against the PPP.
ANP leader Bushra Gauhar too deserved praise for her speech, which was in effect a tribute to the great Bacha Khan. She called him a man of peace, who had taught his followers always to seek peace in everything they embarked on.
The Member spoke with verve, and grace, with mastery of the subject, also touching on the defence budget. 'Why spend on it', she asked, 'when there were many violations of air space, and the military lacked vision of peace; but had embittered the tribal people'
Then there was Sardar Bahadur Khan Sehr who concentrated on agriculture. Pakistan had been mistakenly called a feudal state and because of this no one liked to invest in agriculture. But there were only 35 percent of landholdings of five acres, and 33 per cent of 12 acres holdings.
Only point five percent owned land above 150 acres and 1.8 percent of land owners have it between 50 and 150 acres. Benefits of land produce went to millers while the farmers remained impoverished.
Sehr also argued that the government should pay more attention to agriculture. A number of substantial issues were also raised, including one from Dr Arbab Alamgir, to confront terrorism. He gave a warming that 'militancy was knocking on our doors and if we did not tackle it in a wise manner it would rock the foundations of our state'.