04 December 2004	Saturday	21 Shawwal 1425

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: Acting Senate Chairman Khalilur Rahman on Friday assured the protesting opposition senators that he would contact the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take notice of the alleged use of state machinery in the Malakand by- election.

Mr Rahman was responding to the speeches made by opposition senators belonging to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) and the People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) in which they alleged that state resources were being used in the election campaign of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) candidate Salim Saifullah Khan.

He asked the opposition members to furnish him with their complaints so that he could submit the same to the election commission. Mr Rahman said that use of state funds for the election campaign of the ruling party candidate was not a new phenomenon, however, it was not fair. He said he would also talk to the prime minister in this regard.

Earlier, speaking on a point of order, Muttahida Majlis-i- Amal (MMA) Senator Sahibzada Khalid Jan said the workers of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) working on a project in Malakand had been withdrawn and shifted to another project being undertaken on the instructions of the PML candidate.

The MMA senator said the Wapda workers had left the project incomplete causing great inconvenience to the residents of the area. He alleged that work on the project had been stopped on the directives of Minister of State for Water and Power Engineer Amir Muqam, who was appointed head of the election cell of Mr Saifullah.

Mr Jan regretted that work had been stopped on the scheme of an elected representative only to facilitate the ruling party candidate. He said Wapda had already provided 92 poles, out of some 400 poles, for the project. However, he said, all the poles were lying at the site. He said due to this situation, he could not visit his constituency, as the people of the area were displeased at it.

The MMA senator threatened to hold a big protest demonstration, if work on the project was not restored by December 10. Another MMA Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb condemned the reported statement of Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan that if the people of Malakand elected any candidate other than Mr Saifullah, he would not be given development funds.

He asked the acting chairman to take notice of this statement, as the minister had no authority to issue such a statement. Moreover, he said, denial of development funds to an elected representative would amount to denying them their rights. PPP Senator Raza Rabbani asked the acting chairman to do something to wake up the election commission.

Meanwhile, the ruling party senators Bibi Yasmeen Shah and Pari Gul Agha also expressed their concern over the delay in execution of projects and over-invoicing by the departments concerned.

Bibi Yasmeen Shah said despite the release of funds, the projects could not be started in her area, as the executing agencies were estimating higher than the proposed cost of the projects. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan said that he would take up the issue with the prime minister.