ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Commerce on Tuesday unanimously moved a privilege motion against commerce ministry officials for the exclusion of parliamentary members from the Board of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) since 2021.

The committee meeting chaired by Senator Anusha Rahman moved the motion against officials responsible for not taking parliamentarians to the TDAP board since 2021, which is tantamount to repealing the law and the Parliament.

This issue has persisted on the agenda for several meetings, and after a thorough review of the records of the commerce ministry, it was revealed that some officials of the commerce ministry have consistently excluded the parliamentary members from the TDAP board since 2021 without any legal authority using unsubstantiated excuses.

After detailed deliberations, it was concluded that the matter be referred to the Privilege Committee of the Senate and the Establishment Division to be involved in conducting an inquiry on delinquent officers serving in the Ministry of Commerce and take action if any inefficiency and misconduct is established.

The committee has nominated Senator Bilal Ahmed Khan to be placed on the TDAP board, but the commerce ministry has yet to notify him.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2024