ISLAMABAD, April 27: Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niazi said on Friday he would submit a breach of privilege motion against a parliamentary secretary and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority for bypassing him and failing to respond timely to opposition’s adjournment motions seeking debate on a show-cause notice issued by Parma to a private TV channel.
Opposition members offered support to the minister, but he said: “I can handle the matter myself.”
The house had on Thursday admitted seven identical adjournment motions to discuss the Pemra’s notice.
Dr Afgan said Pemra had not kept him informed him about the matter to enable him to take up the issue and reply to opposition’s objections.
The matter had surprisingly been omitted from the day’s agenda, apparently on a request from Pemra through the parliamentary secretary, instead of the minister.
The minister said it was his right to know the viewpoint of Pemra before the matter was brought to the house, adding that this was a breach of privilege which also amounted to contempt of the house. He said he would bring a privilege motion against Pemra. He said Pemra was supposed to have updated him on the matter, instead of requesting the parliamentary secretary to delay the debate.
Dr Firdaus Ashiq Awan, the parliamentary secretary for the cabinet division which deals with Pemra affairs, said she had been contacted by the Pemra chairman on Thursday night to seek a delay in the debate for the next working day. She said the Pemra chief had told her that he had failed to contact the minister because he was “sleeping after taking pills”.
Her statement infuriated the minister who said he was “very much awake till 11pm”.
