ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: The Senate standing committee on labour manpower and overseas Pakistanis took a serious notice of lack of action by the ministry against employment promoters issuing fake advertisements to recruit people for Malaysia.

The committee directed the ministry to take action against the promoters who were fleecing the people despite the fact that no visas were available for Malaysia. The committee chairman, Naseer Mengal, reprimanded the secretary labour, Hamayun Farshori, when he asked the senators to provide a copy of any advertisement.

Senator Mengal said it was not the job of the committee members to provide the bureaucrats with the advertisements and that he had personally brought it to the notice of the ministry.

The secretary also tried to put blame on the political leadership for the misunderstanding regarding Malaysia. Mr Farshori said no official record existed in the ministry that some two hundred thousand people would go to Malaysia and if any political statement was made by the leaders, he could not take responsibility for that.

"Secretary Saheb you are trying to wash your hands by saying that it was a political statement," Senator Prof Saeed Siddiqui said. Senator Tariq Azeem said Pakistanis were suffering in miserable conditions, and the ministry was portraying a promising situation contrary to facts. He questioned the performance and appointment of two labour attaches in United Kingdom.

Senator Enver Baig said the ministry should be blamed for not solving the problems of the overseas Pakistanis. He criticized the ministry for trying to hide the facts in certain investigations against employment bureaus by giving incomplete information to the Senate. He asked the ministry to place the relevant record before the committee so that officials involved in corrupt practices could be identified.

"A lot of corruption is going on. What do you mean by case closed. It is a vague answer," said the senator while referring to the response of the ministry. When the secretary labour tried to resist the move by Senator Baig, he was reminded that he had to cooperate with the body created by the Upper House of the sovereign parliament.

Senator Baig also asked the ministry to explain as to how it allowed a person without any license to send manpower to Libya. He said the ministry had not been monitoring human smuggling.

When the secretary labour said checking human smuggling was the responsibility of the FIA, Senator Baig said he should open and read the Emigration Ordinance, before making any wrong statement before the committee.

Senator Nighat Mirza said the OPF had failed to bring back the bodies of Pakistanis from abroad in certain cases and its performance was dismal.

The committee members also questioned the appointment of board members of the OPF and asked the committee to give overseas Pakistanis more representation in it than the bureaucrats.