ISLAMABAD: Opposition members protested on Tuesday over the absence of ministers from the Senate and staged a walkout from the house refusing to start debate on the federal budget.

The opposition senators also lashed out at the government for its failure to prevent second terrorist attack in Karachi in three days.

“It seems that this house does not exist at all. I will not open the debate on the budget since no minister or (federal) secretary is present,” said PPP parliamentary leader Raza Rabbani after acting Chairman Sabir Baloch gave him the floor.

Then Mr Rabbani led the walkout of all opposition senators, forcing the acting chairman to suspend the proceedings. They returned to the house after almost half an hour and Mr Rabbani opened the debate only after treasury members managed to bring four to five ministers from the adjacent National Assembly hall which was also in session at that time.

At the outset of the sitting, Zahid Khan of the ANP drew attention of the chair towards the empty front desks and suggested that the proceedings should be adjourned since the rulers had no love for the Senate.

“Why are we wasting so much money of taxpayers on sessions?” he asked. “The rulers want to become dictators and hiding like thieves,” he said.

Tahir Mashhadi of the MQM and Kamil Ali Agha of the PML-Q expressed concern over the second terrorist attack in Karachi in three days and alleged that the rulers had soft corner for militants.

PPP’s Moula Bux Chandio said that the national security policy of the government had put the country’s security at stake. “The rulers are confused and non-serious. They are running away from parliament,” he added.

Abdul Haseeb Khan of the MQM said that the terrorists had virtually taken over Karachi. There was no use of holding debate on the budget in the wake of the worsening security situation, he said.

Mr Rabbani regretted that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had briefed the National Assembly about the attack on the Karachi airport, but the Senate was being kept in the dark.

He accused the government of providing a cover to those who had picked up arms against the state. “Don’t test the nation’s intelligence,” he said while denouncing the interior minister’s claim that no attack had been carried out in Karachi on Tuesday.

Later, taking part in the debate on the budget, the PPP leader regretted that the finance minister had himself admitted that 50 per cent the country’s population was living below the poverty line.

He suggested that the huge money which was being spent on construction of motorways should be used for providing better health facilities in rural areas. He described 10pc increase in salary of government employees as meagre.

Mr Rabbani said on one hand the rulers talked about austerity, but on the other, Rs69 million were being spent on a garden, staff and conveyance at the PM Secretariat. Moreover, he said six sniffing dogs and a number of BMW vehicles had been purchased for the PM House.

The PPP senator said while the poor were being taxed whereas the royals of the UAE and Qatar had been exempted from duties on import of all items, including vehicles.

Mr Rabbani complained that the federal government had been treating Sindh discriminately, saying it had excluded provision of 11 mega projects proposed by the provincial government in the budget.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2014