August 29, 2007	Wednesday	Sha’aban 15, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: The Senate standing committee on religious affairs on Tuesday restrained the government’s nominated committee from allotting Haj quotas to private tour operators and said all its decisions be declared null and void until a transparent quota policy was prepared.

The committee, which met at the parliament house, issued the directives to the ministry of religious affairs asking it not to implement any list sent to it by the government’s nominated body.

The meeting was summoned to discuss complaints received from across the country about the working of Haj tour operators.

It raised serious observations against the criteria adopted for Haj quota allotment.

Through a resolution the committee said it had reached a unanimous conclusion that the officially nominated committee had not adopted a transparent policy in the first place.

And even if it was adopted, the same was in total departure from the spirit of the Supreme Court as the nominated members had handed over their favourites’ list to the chairman Justice (retired) Karamat Nazir Bhindari, thus finalisation of these lists is neither under any policy nor transparent.

It said the officially nominated committee should satisfy the Senate body about its way of working in the next meeting on September 5.

“In the meanwhile, the committee recommends that before fulfilling these requirements, all the decisions and acts of this nominated committee be withheld and the ministry of religious affairs should not implement any of its decisions.”

The meeting was chaired by Maulana Samiul Haq and attended by senators Maulvi Agha Mohammad, Dr Khalid Ranjha, Hafiz Abdul Malik Qadri, Mohammad Abbas Kumaili, Dr Abdul Khaliq Pirzada, Abdur Rashid, Kulsoom Parveen and Ms Ratna.

Senators Hamidullah Afridi and Rashid Ahmed from Fata attended the meeting on special invitation.