ISLAMABAD: In an apparent move to backtrack from talks on the issue of holding elections, Javed Latif of ruling Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday said that talks can only be held among genuine political parties but not with the person who is responsible for “anarchy and stoking moral decline” in society.

Speaking on a point of order in the National Assembly, Latif, who is a close confidant of deposed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, plainly said that there will be no talks with Imran Khan on issues pertaining to election and others.

He claimed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan is getting bail by sitting at home, while his party supremo Nawaz Sharif “who made the country a nuclear power and gave China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and eliminated terrorism”, was forced to live in exile.

He said that Sharif had been banned from taking part in politics for 10 years which is a great injustice to a person who did everything for the development of the country.

He said that it is Sharif who had been sent into exile by the military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf and now again he is being punished for the “sin which he never committed”.

Given the situation, he maintained there will be no talks with PTI chief Imran Khan, saying: “We will not speak to a terrorist, corrupt and morally sick leader”.

Responding to a calling attention notice, the parliamentary secretary for water resources, Zulfiqar Bachani, demanded NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf form a parliamentary committee to probe into reports of water theft and no water reaching downstream in Sindh.

About the non-provision of water to Sindh as per its share under the Water Accord, he said the province had been provided about 40,000 cusecs water and there is a need to hold a probe into it.

The NA Speaker referred the matter to the concerned committee of the house.

Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Ehsanur Rehman Mazari informed the house that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earned Rs12 billion through Pakistan Super League (PSL) current season.

Responding to various questions during question hour, he said that from the current PSL season, PCB has earned about Rs12 billion.

He said that the government is in the process to hire the services of a professional hockey coach to bring back the past glory of the national game.

He said that Pakistan Sports Board has laid Astroturf in Islamabad while work was in progress to lay Astroturf in Gilgit-Baltistan and Quetta.

He said that the government has devised a policy to provide more financial assistance to the federation performing well at the international level.

He said that the performance of the coach hired by the previous government for the hockey team was not up to mark, adding this was the reason the contract of the international coach was not renewed.

Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said that Pakistan Railways suffered a revenue loss of Rs7 billion due to last year’s devastating floods, as railways operation remained suspended for 42 days.

He said that Pakistan Railways did not receive a single penny despite efforts to get some funds from the Finance Ministry or federal government due to financial constraints.

Despite the financial crunch, he added, an amount of Rs650 million was arranged to link Quetta with other parts of the country.

He said Quetta railways track was severely damaged by devastating floods last year. However, operation from Balochistan has been fully restored.

He said Railways was among those organizations which pay salaries and pensions to the employees from its own resources and the government only bridged the gap. The federal government has also been requested to arrange some funds for railways.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023