ISLAMABAD, May 16: The opposition and the government were divided on two occasions in the National Assembly on Monday as lawmakers discussed the police action against a marathon race in Lahore and the use of Fokker planes by PIA. Twice the opposition pointed out lack of quorum in the house, and proceedings remained suspended for half an hour before the quorum was completed in the first sitting. Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain chose to bail out the government by adjourning the house proceedings till 10am on Tuesday when the lack of quorum was again pointed out in the second sitting.
The house continued to wear a deserted look throughout the proceedings as the attendance in the opposition and treasury benches was too thin. But when the Pemra bill was put to vote the treasury benches outnumbered the opposition. The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) staged a walkout to register its protest at what it described as a brutal police clampdown on the participants of a marathon race which was held under the aegis of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. The members of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) stayed in the House and protested the police action against its own activists who were there to resist the race.
The government side appeared divided over the question of PIA flying what the opposition called “outdated and dangerous” Fokker planes. While the Minister of State for Defence Hamid Sarfaraz asserted that planes that had completed 90,000 flying hours were already in the process of being grounded, the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Maj.Tanvir Hussain claimed that PIA was still using some Fokker planes, although these had completed 200,000 flying hours.
The house passed by majority the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill 2005 to allow cross-media television channels and rejecting all the amendments submitted by the opposition members.
As the House resumed proceedings, Mrs. Naheed Khan of PPP Parliamentarians rose on a point of order to protest the police action on participants of a marathon race in Lahore in which HRCP’s Asma Jehangir and Iqbal Haider were maltreated. This, she claimed, did not represent the picture of a civilised society. More PPP members wanted to speak on the incident but the Deputy Speaker Sardar Yaqub, who was presiding over the sitting, refused to allow them to do so and as a result the members belonging to ARD staged a token walkout.
The MMA refused to join the walkout and one of its members Liaquat Baloch described the police action in another way, saying that those who had gone there to resist and oppose the marathon were also roughed up by the police.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, parliamentary leader of PML(Nawaz), took the floor in the post-question hour sitting and pointed out that the photos in the newspapers negated the government’s claim that it was treating its opponents in a civilised manner.
The chair asked the protesting members to bring a calling attention notice or an adjournment motion on the issue if they were eager to take more time in discussing the issue. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan agreed with the notion in view of the importance of the issue. Syed Khurshid Shah of PPP Parliamentarians asked the chair to take up the adjournment motion at once, so as to expose the elements responsible for the uncivilised treatment to peaceful citizens.
Shamim Akhtar on the occasion exposed anomalies in the sale of Khosgi Sugar Mills owned by Fauji Foundation, terming it a dubious deal. Maj Syed Tanvir Hussain, parliamentary defence secretary, supported the plea that the said deal was not transparent and that the advertisement given by Fauji Foundation in the newspapers was a sheer breach of the privilege of the House. He asked the government to take notice of the said anomaly and to expose those responsible for the same.
M.P. Bhandara, a treasury minority member, pointed out that the minorities were ignored in the formation and elections of house committees. The chair ruled that the minister for parliamentary affairs must complete the process to the satisfaction of the concerned member to his satisfaction.
Chaudhry Nisar said that no consensus had been achieved in two-and-a-half years on the Constitution, and election of chairman for the house committees. The opposition members, who were given an assurance that a two-hour debate on the issue of the Lahore Marathon would be allowed were later asked to postpone it for Tuesday.
The government opposed a calling attention on technical grounds which called in question their removal of numerous government servants from service in various departments throughout the country.
A heated discussion erupted when Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitral of MMA moved a calling attention notice regarding non-purchase of new aircraft and postponement of DESH-800 for replacing old Fokker planes. Maj Tanvir informed the House that the coordination committee set up in the Defence Ministry for unknown reasons prolonged the process of purchasing new aircraft to replace the outdated and dangerous Fokker planes in PIA. He claimed that two Fokker planes which had flown over 200,000 flying hours, as against the stipulated 90,000 hours, were still being flown by the PIA on various internal routes. He supported the demand of replacement of these planes which, he warned, were dangerous for human safety.
Syed Khurshid Shah of PPP Parliamentarians said the point raised by a treasury member must be heeded immediately by grounding all such old Fokkers and replacing them with new ones.
The Minister of State for Defence on this occasion tried to defend PIA by claiming that two Fokker planes were already grounded and the process of replacement of old planes was already in process.
Liaquat Baloch of MMA said the contention in the statements of two government representatives had turned the situation more complex and there was a need for immediate replacement of such planes. The minister of state twice visited the parliamentary secretary for defence to persuade him to change his statement.
The opposition members termed the Pemra bill when tabled as “a means to chain press freedom by enhancing the powers of police to arrest any newsperson whose story was not in the interest of the government”. Some others asked for its deferment. The bill was however put to vote clause by clause and approved after a few amendments moved by the opposition members were rejected.
