ISLAMABAD, Oct 28: Senators belonging to the PPP called for reviewing the process of judges’ appointment as the Senate witnessed walkouts on the issues of law and order situation in Balochistan and the proposed privatisation of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) on the opening day of its winter session on Monday.

The token walkout on law and order situation in Balochistan was led by Senator Zahid Khan of the Awami National Party (ANP) and PPP stalwart Raza Rabbani led the walkout on PSM privatisation.

Although the senators belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) raised the issue of alleged victimisation of the party by Rangers during the operation against criminals in Karachi, they neither staged a walkout nor supported their opposition colleagues in their protests.

Instead, the MQM’s Babar Ghauri supported the government’s plan to privatise the PSM, saying nowhere in the world governments ran such institutions. However, he added, it was a responsibility of the government to protect the rights of workers.

Initiating a debate on the issue of judges’ appointment as the mover of the motion, the PPP’s Farhatullah Babar called for reviewing the procedure of judges’ appointment and warned that failure to do so would result in a “judiciary of judges, for judges and by judges”.

He said that the process of appointments in judiciary was central to its independence and could not be left at the mercy of one individual or an institution.

Mr Babar, who is also the spokesman for former president Asif Zardari and has been vocal in the Senate over the role of judiciary for the past one year, alleged that the bipartisan Parliamentary Committee (PC) was not being allowed to play even its limited role as the Supreme Court (SC), using its powers of judicial review, had rejected most of its recommendations.

He said that the Judicial Commission (JC), headed by the chief justice of Pakistan, had made nominations for appointment of 126 judges over the past four years and only eight of them had been rejected by the PC. But the court always rejected the decisions of the PC, virtually making the JC the sole authority for appointment of judges.

Leader of Opposition in the Senate, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, said that the judiciary remained silent when military dictators kept on appointing judges without any consultation. But now when parliament has acquired a role in the process, the judiciary has suddenly realised that it should also have a role.

Mr Ahsan said that judiciary was subservient to parliament as every judge had to take oath to defend and protect the constitution.

“If judiciary takes extra-constitutional measures, parliament has the right to debate the issue,” he said. The PPP’s legal wizard said that the PC could not be made subservient to the JC.

Debate on the issue will resume on the next private member’s day on Monday (Nov 4).

PSM PRIVATISATION: Speaking on a point of order, Mr Rabbani alleged that the government had decided to privatise 68 institutions run by it to “comply with the dictates from the International Monetary Fund”.

He alleged that efforts were being made to undermine the PSM so that it could be sold out. He vowed to resist any move in this direction in and outside parliament.

Mr Rabbani said that the PPP government had regularised services of some 5,000 PSM employees but the present government was bent upon sacking them.

The PSM employees had not been paid salaries for three months and, despite a promise by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, no bailout package had been announced for the mills, he said.

In reply to Mr Rabbani’s assertions, Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq claimed that privatisation of the PSM had been proposed by a Senate committee before the PML-N came to power.

Indicating that the government had made up its mind to privatise the Steel Mills, he said that a bailout package would not serve any purpose and the amount would go waste. Privatisation of the PSM would benefit its employees too, he added.

Earlier, senators belonging to the ANP and the JUI-F protested over kidnapping of doctors and political leaders in Balochistan.

The PPP’s Maula Bakhsh Chandio introduced a bill seeking an amendment to the Emigration Ordinance 1979 to provide a forum to overseas Pakistanis for protection of their properties in the country. The bill was referred to the standing committee concerned.

Senate Chairman Nayyar Bokhari asked the government to submit by next Monday a report on payment of compensation to people of Nowshera whose land had been acquired by military about three decades ago.

The Senate will meet again on Tuesday (today) at 10.30am.