ISLAMABAD: Opposition parties in the Friday session of the Senate rejected the 62.85 per cent increase in the cost of performing Haj under the new policy of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government and asked it to reverse the decision.

The ruling PTI, which had claimed to transform the country into a Madina-like state, had framed a policy that would push the religious obligation out of the reach of many, observed a senator through a calling attention notice.

Defending the Haj policy during the Senate proceedings, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan said the present government had no control over expenses incurred in Saudi Arabia for Haj. The expenditure on Haj for Pakistani pilgrims increased due to devaluation of the rupee against the Saudi riyal, the minister said.

Minister says govt has no control over expenses in Saudi Arabia

Expressing disappointment over the new Haj policy, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) through a calling attention notice said the government should have provided some relief to the people by announcing a subsidy.

He termed the move a ‘drone attack’ and said the people’s desire to perform Haj had become a target of the PTI’s ‘tsunami’.

In the tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government, the Haj expense had been fixed at Rs280,000, Senator Ahmed said, but the PTI government increased it to Rs456,000.

He claimed that the ministry of religious affairs had recommended Rs45,000 subsidy for Haj pilgrims but it was not done. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) also gave its recommendation that the government could give subsidy on Haj expense, he added.

As compared to the Haj expenditures for the people of India and Iran as well as Bangladesh, the cost of Haj was much higher for Pakistani pilgrims, the senator said.

He regretted that the government didn’t welcome recommendation of the CII while deciding on the matter pertaining to a religious obligation.

Introducing such a policy for Haj was tantamount to preventing people from fulfilling their religious obligation, he said, adding that the government “should not invite ill wishes” of pilgrims.

“The government claiming to make a Madina-like state is stopping people from visiting Makkah and Madina,” he said.

He suggested that instead of spending billions of rupees for the restoration of cinema industry, the government should subsidise Haj.

He also asked the government to disclose break-up of the expenses on Haj.

In response to the notice, minister for parliamentary affairs Ali Mohammad Khan insisted that the government was standing by its stance of establishing a Madina-like state.

Mr Khan said the government had no control over expenditures as 70 per cent of Haj expenses were incurred in Saudi Arabia.

The PTI minister said the previous government had decided not to increase the Haj expenses because 2018 was the election year. He explained that expenses for accommodation, meals and other services had drastically been increased in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He also presented a comparison of charges on various heads in Saudi Arabia in 2017 and after the recently announced increase in Haj expenditure. As the rupee devalued against the Saudi riyal from Rs 29 to Rs39, the accommodation charges in Saudi Arabia had surged from Rs60,000 to Rs94,185 and transportation cost increased from Rs9,280 to Rs13,400. Food charges hiked from Rs23,000 to Rs38,000, cost of accommodation in Madina increased from Rs23,000 to Rs40,000, train charges went up from Rs7,000 to Rs20,000 and some other charges rose from Rs30,000 to Rs70,000, the minister told the senators.

He declared that the government would try to give relief to the Haj pilgrims. “The government has been trying to provide some relief,” he said while hinting at a relief for pilgrims before start of Haj operations.

Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjarani suggested to the minister that provision of subsidy to Haj pilgrims would be a better move.

PMDC ordinance

Pakistan Peoples Party senators Sherry Rehman, Raza Rabbani and Farooq H. Naek agitated the issue of non-laying of PMDC Ordinance before the House once again on Friday, pointing out that it was a flagrant violation of the Constitution.

Mr Rabbani and Mr Naek said the ordinance promulgated by the president should have been laid before the House on the first day of the session. He said the delay on part of the government to lay the ordinance was denying the House its right to move a resolution for its disapproval.

The former chairman of Senate further pointed out that ministers were not attending the parliamentary proceedings. He said all ministers, including religious affairs minister, aviation minister and foreign affairs minister were not making their presence in the house.

Leader of Opposition Raja Zafarul Haq said absence of ministers showed government’s attitude towards the parliament and the Constitution. He announced opposition’s walkout as a mark of protest against it.

Amidst protest by the opposition over absence of ministers, the Senate chairman informed the House that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi wanted to give a detailed briefing on the US-Taliban talks in the next session of Senate, as according to him it was a secret issue and “none other than him” was aware of the development.

“The talks might have concluded by then,” Mr Rabbani remarked. He also rejected the foreign minister’s claim that others were unaware of the move. He said the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) gave a detailed interview to foreign media a day before the foreign minister addressed a press conference in Multan. “He [DG ISPR] is aware of all the happenings,” he asserted.

Supplementary finance bill

During the session, the Senate made 55 recommendations on the supplementary finance bill for further consideration of the National Assembly.

The upper house of the parliament adopted the recommendations on the Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 soon after Senator Farooq H. Naek presented the report, having the proposals of Senate’s finance committee.

The NA, being the only house of the parliament, having powers to pass or reject a money bill, will consider these recommendations for approval or disapproval.

The Senate recommended 10 per cent increase in salaries of all government employees as interim relief allowance.

Other recommendations include the proposal for reduction in tax on per kilogram tobacco, as the enhancement of tax had devastated the growers, local manufacturers and small enterprises. It proposed that non-filers should be allowed to purchase vehicles only up to 800 CC against the proposed exemption of up to 1300CC in the money bill.

The government was also recommended to continue to impose regulatory duty on export of recycled materials to prevent the dumping of the ‘hazardous material’ in Pakistan.

Interestingly, the house also proposed an amendment to the Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) Act, 1974 saying that “a member shall,… in addition to the vouchers… be entitled to the cash value of 25 business class open return air tickets from the airport nearest to his constituency to Islamabad on a quarterly basis.”

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2019