August 03, 2007	Friday	Rajab 18, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: The National Assembly standing committee on finance and revenue has missed the deadline set for submitting its report on the March 2005 stock market crash to parliament for debate.

The committee had to submit the report more than two months back. Its approach was very proactive but only until there were signs of a political change. The committee members, mostly from the opposition with the exception of Kashmala Tariq, had persistently pursued the case for almost two years.

Naveed Qamar, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and some other parliamentarians, who had been keenly following the probe and were interested in finalising the report, have got busy in their pre-election homework.

Sources told Dawn that a request for holding the meeting of the committee was turned down three times by its chairman Anwar Ali Cheema due to the absence of parliamentarians.

“The PML-N and PPP legislators are now busy in shuttling between Pakistan and London to meet their exiled leaders and secure tickets for the next general elections,” a source said.

In response to a question, he said even the process of writing the report had not been started. He said it was highly unlikely that the report would ever make its way to the floor of parliament during its current tenure.

“I don’t think the report can be prepared and sent to parliament when the general elections are so near,” a committee member told Dawn.

When contacted Kashmala Tariq told Dawn that a meeting of the committee might be arranged after the current NA session, which is likely to conclude on August 15.

A sub-committee of the standing committee recently held a meeting to review the draft of the Money Laundering Bill, but only a few of the ruling party MNAs turned up.