ISLAMABAD – Differences have emerged between the National Assembly and the Senate and their house and library committees on Parliament Lodges’ extension issue as MPs from the upper house want to give a go-ahead to the project at their joint meeting scheduled this week while MNAs are all set to resist the move.
Facing resistance from Opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan last month after the inauguration of the ground-breaking ceremony of the Rs 3 billion project, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani referred the issue to the house and Library Committee of the National Assembly, saying the government would accept its decision.
Following the PM’s direction, NA Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi who is also the chairman of NA House and Library Committee had a meeting with Senate Deputy Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali on February 5. NA Speaker Fehmida Mirza discussed the issue with Senate Chairman Farooq H Naek in Karachi .
A source in the parliament told Pakistan Today that Jan Muhammad Jamali was against shelving the project as, according to him, most of senators had no accommodation for lack of insufficient residential apartments. Despite repeated attempts, Jamali could not be contacted for his version.
However, the custodians of both the houses of the parliament decided at their meetings that the matter would be resolved in a joint meeting of house and library committees of the NA and the Senate. The high-ups of the Planning Commission, Finance Division, Cabinet Division, Ministry of Law & Parliamentary Affairs and CDA will brief the meeting on the project.
When contacted, Senator Tahir Mashhadi of MQM, who is also a member of the Senate’s House Committee said the Parliament Lodges needed extension as over 90 lawmakers were compelled to live in rented houses. “Such kind of accommodation is provided to parliamentarians in every country. The profligacy label on the project is incorrect as it would be completed in yearly phases with a reasonable allocation of funds in each budget and it is not a one-time burden on the national exchequer,” Mashahdi added.
Another member of the Senate House Committee, Maula Bakhsh Chandio of PPP, also supported the extension project, saying the shortage of residential apartments in the Parliament Lodges was causing more expenses as a number of MPs were residing in rented houses in the city and the rent was being paid by the Senate Secretariat.
On the other hand, Noor Alam Khan from PPP, a member of NA House and Library Committee, said the NA body wanted to put the project on hold owing to the current financial constraints. “This amount should be spent on the rehabilitation of flood affectees,” he observed.
