ISLAMABAD: The Senate was informed on Friday that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) – which has been involved in the war in Afghanistan for over a decade now – has been using Pakistan’s airspace for free since the commencement of the war on terror in 2001.

The revelation that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) did not receive even a single penny from the US-led Nato forces took many by surprise, with some senators eager to know who had allowed this waiver.

Know more: Nato helicopters violate Pakistani airspace near Pak-Afghan border

MQM’s Babar Ghauri asked if the amount was waived by the Ministry of Defence and, if so, under whose authority.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad said he did not know and promised to check and appraise the house on whether the decision had been taken by the cabinet.

At the outset, Babar Awan raised the issue of Indian aggression on the Working Boundary, saying that the hostile neighbour, in the last month, had fired 36,000 shells from across the Line of Control claiming the lives of 24 Pakistanis. He regretted that belligerent threats were being hurled by Indian ministers and suggested that the matter be debated after suspending the routine proceedings of the house.

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Leader of the House Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq said that members of the business advisory committee, during a meeting, had also expressed their concerns over the situation and called for a debate on the issue. He asked the chair to fix the date for such discussion.

The Senate chairman asked Mr Awan to consult the leaders of the house and the opposition and said a motion to suspend the proceedings be moved after consultation with both sides of the aisle.

The house also unanimously adopted a resolution welcoming the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Malala Yousafzai. The resolution, signed by members from all political parties, was moved by ANP’s Haji Adeel. It paid tribute to the daughter of Swat for her sacrifices for the cause of education.

During question hour, the house was informed that two engineers, formerly serving in PIA’s flight operations department, had been working in the sales and marketing department of the national flag-carrier for years.

“How can engineers be marketers,” Babar Ghauri remarked and wondered if marketing staff were repairing aircraft at PIA.

The House was told that Mamnoonur Rashid and Irshad Ghani started their careers in PIA as operations engineers. Mr Rashid was transferred to the sales and marketing department on March 3, 1996, while Irshad Ghani was transferred to the sales and marketing department as deputy general manager on October 10, 2001. Since then, both remained in the marketing department until their retirement on June 1, 2013 and August 9, 2013, respectively.

The house will meet again on Monday at 4pm and is likely to begin discussion on Indian aggression along the LoC and the Working Boundary.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2014