|
|
| November 18, 2005 | Friday | Shawwal 15, 1426 |
Uproar in Senate over Luck Pass Tunnel
ISLAMABAD, Nov 17: The Senate on Thursday witnessed an uproar by treasury and opposition members when Minister of State for Communications Shahid Jamil Qureshi could not give a proper reply to a question about construction of Luck Pass Tunnel.
Replying to a question of Senator Liaquat Ali Bangalzai, the minister told the house that the tunnel would be constructed by June 30, 2007 and the contract for its construction had been awarded to the Frontier Works Organization (FWO).
Mr Bangalzai told the house that he had asked the same question some three years back and the government had given the same reply that the tunnel would be completed in three years’ time. He asked the Senate chairman, Mohammadmian Soomro, to call the record of the previous session and refer the matter to the standing committee.
Treasury Senator Pari Gul Agha supported Mr Bangalzai’s claim and said the house should take notice of the situation that why work could not be started on the project.
In response to the points raised by the senators, the minister said that work had been continuing for the past three to four years on the project but it could not be completed due to paucity of funds with the National Highways Authority (NHA).
This comment of the minister invited the wrath of more senators and they started shouting that he was “telling a lie” on the floor of the house and no work was in progress.
Upon strong agitation of the senators, the minister changed his statement and said the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) “had already approved the project and the contract for the construction of tunnel would be awarded to the FWO in December and work would start in January next year”.
The opposition senators, including Mr Bangalzai and Azizullah Satakzai, started shouting and asked the chairman to take notice of the minister’s statement and refer the matter to the committee concerned to probe it.
Later, the Senate chairman referred the matter to the Standing Committee on Communications to look into it.
Meanwhile, the treasury and opposition senators from Balochistan also criticized the government for not setting up universities in the province.
It all started when in response to a question of Senator Ismail Buledi, Federal Minister for Education Lt Gen (retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi said that at the moment there was no proposal under consideration of the government to establish a university in Gwadar or Turbat.
Senators Ismail Buledi, Muhim Khan Baloch and Sanaullah Baloch stressed the need for establishing more universities in Balochistan. Mr Buledi said that the people of Turbat were poor and they could not afford getting education in Quetta and other cities.
The education minister said that establishment of a university was the job of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and not of the ministry. He said a university was established in an area keeping in view the number of students.
He said if the senators from Balochistan believed that there were sufficient number of students in the area, then they should ask the provincial government or the HEC to set up a university.
Senator Muhim Khan Baloch asked the minister to collect the data that how many students from Turbat and other nearby areas were studying in Quetta.
Senator Sanaullah Baloch said there were 18 universities in Islamabad, while there were only three universities in Balochistan, out of which two did not meet the required standards.
Replying to these points, the education minister said actually there were only three public sector universities in Islamabad and most of the other institutions were functioning in the private sector.
|
|
