ISLAMABAD: The government faced humiliation on the opening day of the Senate’s new parliamentary year on Monday when the house approved amendments to bind the prime minister to attend a session of the upper house at least once a week.

Besides, the government received a warning from Senate Chairman Nayyar Bokhari over its failure to present the National Security Policy before the house despite his directive during the last session.

The chairman directed Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq to lay the policy before the Senate for a debate on Tuesday (today) and warned that otherwise he would refer the matter to the privileges committee.

A motion proposing the amendment to the Senate rules making it mandatory for the prime minister to attend “Zero Hour” at least once in a week was tabled by Tahir Mashhadi of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) after a walkout by opposition members over continued absence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from the upper house.

The opposition members complained about an “unannounced boycott” of the Senate by the prime minister, recalling that he had not turned up in the house during the entire parliamentary year, making a new record in parliamentary history.

The house witnessed a rumpus before the opposition walkout when the PML-N’s Jaffar Iqbal said the prime minister was busy dealing with national challenges and, therefore, had no time to come to the Senate.

The opposition members staged a walkout over Mr Iqbal’s remarks after PPP’s Raza Rabbani termed them an “insult” to the house.

Raja Zafarul Haq, Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal and Syed Zafar Ali Shah of the ruling PML-N, which is in minority in the 104-member upper house, made futile attempts to block the passage of the amendment by demanding time for consultation and a debate on the matter. But the opposition forced Deputy Chairman Sabir Baloch to put the motion to a vote.

Interestingly, despite a hint by the deputy chairman to the ruling party, no one from the treasury members moved an amendment or demanded that the amendment be referred to the committee concerned for discussion.

At one stage, Zafar Ali Shah desperately launched a personal attack on MQM chief Altaf Hussain in an apparent move to provoke the party’s Senators to stage a walkout instead of moving the amendment, but the deputy chairman expunged the remarks to calm tempers.

The speakers and deputy speakers of the provincial assemblies watched the ruckus from the visitors’ gallery. They are in the capital to participate in the three-day Speakers’ Conference.

The new rule seeks to rename “Zero Hour” as “Prime Minister’s Zero Hour”. Zero Hour represents a free hour in which the members can ask any question of national importance without prior notice.

“The prime minister shall, whenever possible, personally respond to points raised by members when he is present in the house. However, the prime minister shall attend the ‘Prime Minister’s Zero Hour’ at least once in each week when the Senate is in session,” says sub-section 2A inserted in Rule 61 of the Rules of Business and Conduct of Procedure in the Senate 2012.

Under the new arrangement, it would be a joint responsibility of the leader of the house and the chief whip to invite the prime minister to attend the Zero Hour and to inform members about his attendance one day in advance.

“If the prime minister is not available, the minister concerned shall respond. If both the prime minister and the minister are not present, the chairman Senate, if deemed necessary, may require the minister to respond to the point raised by the members on a date to be fixed by him,” says the new rule.

It further says: “There shall be no debate or voting on a statement made by the prime minister during the Zero Hour. The member in whose name the item stands shall make a brief statement and the minister concerned shall make a statement on the subject. The statement by the member shall not exceed 10 minutes and the statement by the minister shall not normally exceed 15 minutes.”

Also on Monday, two private members’ bills -- the National Cyber Security Council Bill 2014 and the Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances) (Amendment) Bill 2014 -- were tabled in the Senate by Mushahid Hussain and Raza Rabbani respectively. Both the bills were referred to standing committees.

The house unanimously passed three resolutions. Through the first resolution moved by Farhatullah Babar of the PPP and Afrasiab Khattak of the ANP, the house called upon the government to work out a plan to cleanse Fata of militant networks, provide compensation to the victims of militancy and relief to displaced people, rehabilitate them and launch a programme for socio-economic uplift of the tribal people.

Through the two other resolutions, the house called for transparency in the award of the contract of Reko Diq Mines Project and asked the government to provide clean drinking water to Islamabad villages.

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