ISLAMABAD: “Is it a fact that street lights of St No 49, particularly from house numbers 7 to 12, Sector G-10/3, Islamabad remain switched off? Is it also a fact that the lights of a park near Khan Market of the said sector are also non functional since long.”

This is not a query addressed to the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), or even a complaint posted to the Capital Development Authority (CDA). It is not even a common citizen’s plea to the federal ombudsman. It is, in fact, a question asked by a member of parliament during the recently concluded session of the National Assembly.

Members of the country’s most august house, who are traditionally considered affluent and well-connected, have such little clout left that they have resorted to fielding queries during Question Hour to bring constituents’ problems to the attention of the relevant authorities.

It has now become routine for lawmakers to seek official response on matters of an extremely local nature, especially with regards to the capital.

MNAs, even those not from Islamabad, field questions regarding local issues to attract authorities’ attention

Be it questions about the construction of a specific street or the disconnection of water supply to a particular house, parliamentarians have fielded their constituents’ issues during Question Hour, just to put pressure on the concerned authorities.

MNA Sher Akbar Khan, who hails from Buner district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, asked in the recently concluded session “whether it is a fact that branch of government bank has not been established in Mughal Market I-8/1, Islamabad, and whether any proposal is under consideration to establish a bank branch in sector I-8”.

But when asked why he chose to raise thie rather petty matter on the floor of the highest forum in the land, where national-level policies are made, the lawmaker from Buner expressed his helplessnes.

“When even the minor issues we raise will not be resolved, we have no other forum left to raise our voices. I raised the issue of the absence of a bank branch in the sector because I wanted to invite the attention of the authorities,” he said.

Islamabad MNA Asad Umar told Dawn that poor service delivery was the main reason behind petty issues being brought to the floor of the house.

“When the concerned directorates and ministries will not pay any attention towards lawmakers’ issues, then MNAs will be forced to raise them on the floor of the house to attract the attention of departments and for the satisfaction of their voters,” he said.

However, he maintained that such minor matters were not raised very often and that, by and large, lawmakers discussed national issues in the lower house.

In fact, many of the MNAs asking localized questions about the capital don’t even reside there. The question cited at the outset was posed by Kasur MNA Waseem Akhtar Sheikh.

In another question, Mr. Sheikh asked whether CDA employees are not performing their duties in respect of cutting grass outside houses 7 to 16 in St No 49, Sector G-10/3.

JUI-F lawmaker Naeema Kishwar Khan, who hails from Mardan, recently posed the question: “Whether it is a fact that a sub-street situated between house no 23 and 24, category II, street number 52, sector G-10/3 Islamabad is full of grass/bushes, and if so the reasons thereof.”

In her written question, she sought information from the Interior Ministry about the street: “Whether it is a fact that persons throw garbage in said sub-street, [and] whether any security guards have been deployed there?”

Another ruling party MNA, Tahira Aurangzeb, asked the Capital Administration and Development Division whether there was any proposal under consideration to plant fruit trees and olive trees in the Japanese Park and Zoo in Islamabad.

Naseema Hafeez Panezai, who hails from Balochistan, in a written question, asked the Minister for Water and Power to inform whether the transformer installed near Masjid-e-Olah, St No 22, Sector G-6/1 Islamabad for B-type quarters had completed its life-span but was also is overloaded.

Most of these questions have yet to be answered by the relevant departments.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2017