ISLAMABAD, Jan 21: Senate Standing Committee on Railways has deplored the trend of inflicting damage to national assets and installations in the garb of political protests and demonstrations in the post-December 27 period and called upon all political parties to inculcate in their workers a sense of responsibility to uphold the national interest supreme even in the face of provocations and anger.

The committee, which met with Senator Kamil Ali Agha in the chair, was given a presentation on the damages and financial losses caused to Pakistan Railways after December 27, 2007 and the steps taken for damage control and rehabilitation.

It said Pakistan Railways was a vital national organisation, which was not only the backbone of communication but also instrumental in carrying essential supplies like oil to thermal power stations and food/grains supplies to the people, respectively, and therefore any conscious attempt to cause damage to such an organisation was tantamount to spelling disaster and an act of high treason.

According to a press release, the meeting observed that the extent of damage was so strong that it reduced the railways’ capacity to half and a complete rehabilitation effort would require financial sources up to the tune of Rs6.5 billion and a time period of at least one year.

It also constituted a three-member subcommittee headed by its convener Senator Engineer Rashid Ahmad Khan, with senators Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi and Nawab Ayaz Khan Jogezai as members to assess damages on the spot and present its report to the main committee within 15 days.

The subcommittee would work in tandem with the commission constituted by the government to assess the damages to the infrastructure and national assets and installations in the post- December 27 period.

The committee noticed a method in crowd’s madness in inflicting damages to railway stations, which are located rather far-off from the main cities, which were the venue of political protests and believed that it was the handiwork of those elements and hooligans, who sneaked into political crowds and deftly went on rampage.

“The wave of anger may be spontaneous but the government must have some means to check the activities of those who are always eager to take advantage of the situation,” it observed.

The meeting was also briefed on the progress made by Pakistan Railways with regard to the grant of ownership to the residents of katchi abadis on railways’ land all over Pakistan with particular reference to Lahore.

The meeting took serious notice of illegal occupation and ‘Qabza’ on various railway lands particularly in and around big cities like Karachi and Lahore and construction of markets, shopping plazas, etc. on the land. It directed Pakistan Railways to hold immediate meetings with provincial departments concerned to sort out the matter and get these lands vacated.

The meeting also asked the government to make sure that no new ‘katchi abadi’ sprung up on railway land, directing the ministry to make arrangements for constructing protective walls to restrict abadis and save the remaining lands from the ‘Qabza’ groups.

The meeting was attended, among others, by senators Mir Mohammad Naseer Mengal, Engineer Rashid Ahmad Khan, Naeem Hussain Chattha, Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi, Lt-Gen (retired) Javed Ashraf, Nawab Mohammad Ayaz Khan Jogezai, Dr Mohammad Ismail Buledi besides senior officials of the railways ministry.