09 February 2005	Wednesday	29 Zilhaj 1425

ISLAMABAD, Feb 8: The People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) senators have criticized Senate Chairman Mohammadmian Soomro for dropping their bills in their absence from the house and vowed to submit all the dropped bills and resolutions to the Senate Secretariat again.

Speaking at a news conference here on Tuesday, opposition leader in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani, PPP spokesman Senator Farhatullah Khan Babar, senators Enver Baig, Rukhsana Zuberi and Akbar Khwaja accused the chairman of conducting the house in a partial manner.

Mr Rabbani said the Senate chairman should have deferred the bills for the next session, but he dropped all the items moved by the opposition members when they had staged a walkout. He said the items, dropped by the chairman, included some important bills concerning the rights of the labour community and working class in the country.

Giving details, Mr Rabbani said he had moved a bill seeking deletion of Article 27-B from the Banking Companies Ordinance through which trade union activities had been banned within the bank timings. Moreover, he said, the Article 27-B was violative of Article 17 of the Constitution, which provided right of freedom of expression to the citizens of Pakistan.

The opposition leader alleged that the government had dropped his bill because it wanted to eliminate trade union activities in the country only to protect the interests of big investors.

Another important bill rejected by the government was an amendment to the Removal from Services (Special Power) Ordinance 2000. The opposition leader said through the ordinance the government had obtained an arbitrary powers to sack employees without giving them a right to give explanation. He said the PPP had moved both the bills as it was a demand of the general public and labour community.

Mr Rabbani said Senator Farhatullah Babar had prepared a very balanced bill seeking an amendment to the Inquiry Commission Act 1946, but that bill was also rejected by the treasury members merely on the basis of its majority. Similarly, he said, Senator Rukhsana Zuberi had moved a bill on transparency, which was also rejected by the chairman when the opposition members were not present in the house.

The opposition leader said this act of the government had exposed its "anti-worker and anti-people" policies. The rejection of these bills, he said, had also exposed the tall claims of the government regarding good governance and transparency.

The opposition leader regretted that the government had no business for the Senate as only one official bill was lying pending against some 30 bills of the opposition members.

Mr Rabbani also opposed the government's decision of privatizing Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) and extended his party's full support to its protesting employees. He said the PPP was not against the privatisation process, but it should not be carried out at the cost of its employees. He said that the military men sitting in the KESC management had been threatening the protesting workers that they would be sacked if they continued to raise their demands. "The government is bent upon selling whole Pakistan to multi-nationals and the PPP will resist this move," he added.

The opposition senators also condemned the recent decisions of increasing prices of oil, gas and electricity in the country.

The PPP leaders alleged that the government was doing all this on the directives of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and to protect a few big businessmen.

Replying to a question, Mr Rabbani denied the impression that the opposition had failed to mobilize the public against the government despite having a large number of issues. He claimed that the opposition was playing its due role and very soon a decisive movement would be launched against the regime.

Responding to another question regarding offer by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for talks to Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, Mr Rabbani said first Mr Aziz should acquire powers for the same purpose.