November 11, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 15, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 10: The parliamentary leader of the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) in the Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani, has criticized Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali for blaming the opposition for non-functioning of the parliament.

In a statement here on Monday, the PPP senator asked the prime minister to tell the nation that who had prevented him from appointing a law minister and a minister for parliamentary affairs.

“How can the parliament function without these two ministers,” he said.

Mr Rabbani said during the last one year, apart from the finance bill, only one bill had been made an act of parliament and that also after suspending rules in both the houses and without any debate.

The PPP leader said the government had failed to provide any legislative business to the Senate in 215 days.

The national assembly standing committees, he said, were formed after one year and the opposition was totally ignored. In the Senate, the standing committees had yet not been elected.

He said the government had no agenda for the welfare of the people as it could have done legislation after the opposition’s walkout leaving the field open to the government.

“The orders of the day in both the houses will show that at times after question hour there was no other business,” he added.