ISLAMABAD:Absence of the federal and state ministers from a meeting angered the Senate Panel and forced it to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee.

It also decided to take up the issue withthe Senate Chairman Sayed Yousuf Raza Gilani if the ministers concerned failed to attend the next meeting.

A meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Senate Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas had been convened at the Parliament House to review matters relating to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), including the collection of revenues, expenditure mechanisms, relevant policies, and details of the board’s assets.

Senator Dinesh Kumar chaired the meeting. The committee expressed serious concern over the absence of the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and the Minister of State for Religious Affairs. In protest, the Committee decided to defer the agenda.

The convener Senator Dinesh Kumar along with Committee Member Senator Nadeem Bhutto, observed that meaningful discussion and decision-making on the agenda items were not possible in the absence of the ministers concerned.

It was also noted that the ministers had failed to attend the previous meeting, despite the importance of ministerial-level participation for effective deliberations.

The committee decided to seek complete province-wise details of the Evacuee Trust Property Board’s properties, income, and expenditures in the next meeting.

The committee also took serious notice of the non-provision of working papers at least 48 hours prior to meetings, as required under the law, which hampers effective review. The departments concernedwere directed to ensure timely submission of working papers in future.

During the meeting, the Religious Affairs Secretary informed the committee that the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs had recently undergone surgery and was therefore unable to attend the meeting.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the committee formally deferred the agenda in protest and decided that all pending matters would be taken up for detailed consideration in the next meeting.

The meeting was attended by Committee Member Senator Nadeem Bhutto, the Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs, and other concerned officials, while the Chairman, Evacuee Trust Property Board, participated in the meeting online.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2026