ISLAMABAD: After three successive days of protests, the government promised a climbdown on Wednesday to meet opposition demands for National Assembly’s approval for unbudgeted new taxes while it also took pride in the recent progress of anti-terrorism campaign, including plans for a possible full accession to a UN list of banned organisations.

But both these developments came after opposition parties had walked out of the house in what they called a boycott of the remainder of the house proceedings after the question hour.

Also read: Fuel prices cut, but sales tax increased

Water and Power Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif, after he and another cabinet colleague failed to bring the protesters back, assured an opposition-less house that “some headway will be made today on their demands” and some formal response would come on Thursday.

In speeches before leading all opposition parties out of the house for three days, opposition leader Khursheed Ahmed Shah had been accusing the government of bypassing the house by unilaterally increasing the General Sales Tax (GST) on petroleum products to 27 per cent from 17pc — thus depriving domestic consumers of the full benefit of the falling oil prices — and by unveiling a decision on Monday to tax some 285 importable items following an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

Khawaja Asif said he had no difference with the opposition leader on the issue and that “we cannot even think of bypassing this house”.

He promised to talk to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and other ministers concerned about the opposition concerns.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, while narrating some of the latest figures of actions like hanging of terrorism convicts, cases of what he called war criminals sent to military courts, said “some clear policy” would emerge in the coming few days about dealing with 171 banned organisations listed by the United Nations under local laws.

He said Pakistan had listed 60 banned organisations under its own laws and only 10 of them were also on the UN list.

“We are rectifying this situation,” he said.

Though he said Pakistan was not bound to ban an organisation on a particular country’s demand, he acknowledged that it had to honour the UN list.

Acceding to the full UN list could remove a prevailing confusion about the status of some local organisations like Jamaatud Dawah that continues to openly carry out what it calls social welfare work despite being on the UN list.

The interior minister suggested he could speak in greater detail about a “sea change” that had taken place with the continuing implementation of the newly launched National Action Plan to fight terrorism.

It was towards the end of Chaudhry Nisar speech that some members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement who had joined the combined opposition “boycott” returned to their seats before Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbassi adjourned the house until 11am on Thursday.

Published in Dawn February 12th , 2015

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