Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday told Senate that Pakistan had applied for the membership of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that would help access to the tax evaders in the member countries of the global organisation. During the budget debate in the Upper House of the Parliament, Dar said that a meeting with the Swiss authorities was expected on 23rd and 24th of this month in Bern on the matter of Pakistanis who had stashed money in Swiss banks.
He further said that the membership of multilateral forum OECD will help Pakistan to get information on the money illegally stashed in Swiss banks. Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar said that Afghan Taliban with Pakistani identity cards should be identified, besides exposing their patrons in government departments instead of undertaking the massive task of re-verification of all CNICs in the country.
He was speaking in Senate on an adjournment motion moved by Senators Usman Khan Kakar, Sardar Azam Khan, Gul Bashra and Mian Atique on re-verification of CNICs, which they said, may open new avenues of corruption for the already corrupt department like National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) Senator Babar said that the real issue was whether Mullah Mansoor, Afghan Taliban leader who was killed in a US drone attack in Balochistan last month, was issued Pakistani identity card by the state and whether there were many more of the likes of Mullah Mansoor hiding somewhere with Pakistani identity.
"When there will be bulk (re)verification, new avenues for corruption will open...what needs to be done is: the CNICs given to the militants by the state, should be blocked first. Mullah Mansoor was issued CNIC in 2002, and above all no punishment for Nadra official involved in such activities, speak volume that who is issuing CNICs," he added.
Senator Kakar said that Pashtoons had rendered great sacrifices for the country right from Kashmir freedom struggle to the fight against militancy in tribal areas, but their patriotism was being questioned 'just for being pashtoon'. "We're pashtoons and we'll never accept this double standards with our people...we never wanted that non-Pakistani should be given CNIC but genuine people must not be harassed if you want them to remain Pakistani," he added.
Senator Sardar Khan Musakhel said that CNICs to the two wives of the dead Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Mansoor were issued from Karachi, adding that why no action was being taken in Karachi and why it is Quetta.
"The present government has made even the citizenship controversial...there are two different laws for pashtoons and rest of the Pakistanis, which is not acceptable. 98 percent Nadra officials in Quetta are retired military officers, so who do you blame if fake CNICs are issued to any refugee," he questioned.
Senator Hasil Khan Bizenjo, who has recently been elevated as Federal Minister for Port and Shipping, was all praise form the government decision to re-verify the computerised national identity cards (CNICs).
He said that the government must proceed with the re-verification plan and there should be no discrimination against Pashtoons as they were as patriotic as any other citizen. Dr Jamaldini of BNP-Mengal said that it was the need of the hour if they want to get rid of refugees, who had turned Pakistan into an 'international shelter home for orphans', adding why our soil is taken for granted.
"Let's go for it (re-verification) and clear this mess once and for all," he added. Senator Hafiz Hamdullah echoed the voice of Senator Farhatullah Babar of PPP and said those responsible for issuing CNICs to people should be identified and punished. He questioned who sent off former Afghan president Hamid Karzai via Balochistan to Afghanistan with a Pakistani identity card. "It's nothing new as scores of Afghan MPs still got Pakistani identity cards and are sitting in Afghan parliament. The Afghan refugees were issued ID cards but who is responsible for this is no privy to us all...why you're brothering all the people instead of identifying those whom you already know," he questioned.
Senator Ilyas Bilour said that the government should proceed with its plan to reverify of the CNICs as Pakistan has become a safe haven for the refugees as they are neither paying taxes nor happy with whatever we had done for them.
The State Minister for Interior Baleegur Rehman Khan said that the government would take all possible steps to ensure that no citizen was bothered like it happened in verification of SIMs, which never happened in any part of the world.
"We'll ensure that this process (re-verification of (CNICs) should be carried out with utmost care and we're optimistic that no inconvenience will occur while undertaking throughout the whole exercise, as it happened in verification of SIMs," he added.
BUDGET DEBATE Taking part in the debate on Finance Bill, 2016, opposition leader in Senate Chaudhary Aitzaz Ahsan declared budget for 2016-17 as anti-poor as it envisages increase in indirect taxes which adversely affect the disadvantaged segments of the society.
Terming the budgetary proposals as jugglery of words, he said the government was claiming to have achieved four point seven percent growth rate while the economic experts put the growth rate at three point one percent. He said one thousand rupee increase in the minimum wage of workers was inadequate to meet their daily requirements. He said the new budget has actually been crafted for the rich while ignoring the poor people.
Ahsan said that the government had failed to achieve its targets in agriculture, exports, investment and GDP, adding the foreign remittances have witnessed an increase not because of any strategy of the government but the anti-immigrant policies of the western countries have forced overseas Pakistanis to send their money back home.
Senator Nisar Muhammad Khan of ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said that Prime Minister Youth Scheme was an exercise in futility and the money should be spent on the welfare of the widows who lost their husbands in fight against terrorism both civil and military.
HONOUR KILLING Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani strongly denounced the recurring incidents of immolation of girls in the country especially the burning of Zeenat Rafiq in Lahore who was burnt to death by no other than her mother for solemnising a court marriage. Senator Farhatullah Babar said that such brutal murder and burning of women in the name of honour will continue as long as the parliament failed to legislate making such murders non compoundable.
He called for urgent adoption of the Bill moved by former Senator Sughra Imam that had been passed unanimously by all political parties in the Senate in March 2015 but could not be passed in the joint session recently for want of consensus.
He said it was beyond comprehension as to why it was opposed by some of these very parties in the joint sitting of parliament after voting for it in Senate, adding the anti-woman bias of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII)) as expressed in its recent recommendations has also contributed to crimes against women with impunity in the country."
He said that the CII had lost its relevance as well as constitutional basis and called for examining the validity of its continued existence and submission of annual reports to the parliament Leader of the House Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq expressing concern over the incidents emphasised the need to further strengthen legislation to eradicate crimes.
ADJOURNMENT MOTION An adjournment motion regarding the agreement signed by India, Iran and Afghanistan for development of Chahbahar Port and its impact on Pakistan particularly the Gwadar Port, was also admitted. The house will hold discussion on it on Monday.