ISLAMABAD, Dec 10: Opposition leaders on Saturday expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s response to their suggested terms of reference for the proposed parliamentary committee on earthquake relief and rehabilitation and sent a letter to the PM Secretariat seeking clarification on some points.
Sources told Dawn that the decision to send a reply to the government’s letter in writing had been taken at a meeting of opposition leaders held at the Parliament House on Saturday.
The meeting was attended by leader of opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of opposition in the Senate Raza Rabbani, acting parliamentary leader of the PML-N Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Jamaat-i-Islami’s deputy chief Liaquat Baloch, ANP leader Asfandyar Wali Khan and Senator Raza Mohammad Raza of the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.
A senior opposition leader, who had participated in the meeting, said they were disappointed by the ‘inadequate response’ of the government to their proposals. He said the response proved that rulers were not prepared to restore parliament’s supremacy.
He said the opposition leaders had asked the government to give control of the relief and rehabilitation activities to civilian people. The opposition had also asked Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to remove the generals heading the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority, and the Relief Commission.
The meeting, he said, had regretted that instead of accepting the opposition’s demand the government had tried to justify the appointment of generals for relief work.
The meeting noted that there should be accountability and transparency in the utilization of relief funds which should be spent through parliament, but found the government’s reply on the issue ‘vague and inadequate.’
The opposition leaders told a news conference later that the government had already spent a large chunk of donations without consulting the parliament and now it wanted to share the responsibility with the opposition.
Maulana Fazl said that the institutions taking part in relief activities should be answerable to parliament and added that generals were neither accountable to the National Accountability Bureau nor to parliament and therefore they should not be appointed on key positions.
