ISLAMABAD, Jan 24: Senators from the opposition and the treasury benches on Wednesday joined hands in assailing cabinet members for not attending the upper house sessions regularly and asked acting Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali to take notice of their absence.

The senators refused to listen to Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Khan Niazi when he tried to give respond to questions pertaining to the ministry of religious affairs in the absence of the concerned minister and the minister of state during the question hour.

After receiving criticism from the members, Dr Sher Afgan himself requested the acting chairman to defer all questions related to the religious affairs ministry for the next session. After this, the minister left the house and did not return till the end of the session.

The issue was raised by Awami National Party Senator Ilyas Bilour when the parliamentary affairs minister failed to satisfy members while responding to a supplementary question regarding the number of Pakistani Zaireen (pilgrims) who visited India during last two years. The minister was unable to give a satisfactory reply as to why Pakistani women were not allowed to visit shrines in India.

Mr Bilour termed the constant absence of the ministers a breach of the privilege of the house. "Why don't the ministers come despite the fact that every ministry has a minister and a minister of state?" said Mr Bilour.

Ruling PML Senator Chaudhry Anwar Bhinder said in the past, the ministers always preferred to attend the parliament's session and there were even ministers who had cancelled their foreign visits due to the sessions. He said no doubt Dr Sher Afgan was a competent minister and could give reply to questions, but it did not mean that the ministers should be allowed to make it a routine of remaining absent from the proceedings.