ISLAMABAD, June 2: National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain on Friday directed federal ministers to resolve contentious issues during cabinet meetings, instead of bringing them on the floor of the house.

He made this observation when Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan, amid desk-thumping by opposition members, objected to a reply given by Federal Minister for Housing and Works Safwanullah regarding a question related to projects under the prime minister’s housing scheme and brought under criticism a Gen Pervez Musharraf-led cabinet decision of 2000.

In response to a question of Inayat Begum of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Mr Safwanullah told the house that of 42 projects initiated all over the country in 1999 under the prime minister’s housing scheme, work on 24 commercially unviable projects had been stopped. He said 12 projects had been completed and the remaining six were expected to be completed by end of the current month.

Dr Sher Afgan challenged the minister and said it was wrong to say that the projects were not viable commercially. He said work on one of the projects in his Mianwali constituency was stopped when it was half-completed. “Come with me, I will show you that how much money from the national exchequer has gone wasted due to stoppage of work on the project,” he said.