- PTI, PPP call for taking up matter in parliament
- Dar says rehab, return of IDPs govt’s top priority
Lawmakers on Friday voiced strong protest in the National Assembly against the government’s decision of allowing former president Pervez Musharraf to travel abroad and called for taking up the matter in parliament.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Dr Arif Alvi of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government had to try the former military ruler under Article 6 of the Constitution, but it humiliated the whole Pakistani nation by allowing him to go abroad.
On her turn, Shazia Marri of the Pakistan People’s Party said that since a high treason case had been instituted against Musharraf, the House should be explained the reason behind the grant of permission to the ex-despot to leave for other countries. “The Supreme Court has fixed the entire responsibility on the government and this should also be discussed in the House,” she added.
Speaking on another point of order, PTI’s Dr Shireen Mazari said “what was the need of this parliament if it would not be taken into confidence on the country’s foreign policy”, asserting that parliament should have been taken on board before Pakistan joined the 34-country coalition.
Recalling that Prime Minister’s Adviser Sartaj Aziz had categorically declared in the House that Pakistan would not use its forces against any country, Mazari questioned “if our army is used against any country, then who will be held responsible for it”. “This should be explained to the lawmakers,” she demanded.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s Maulana Amir Zaman, on a point of order, said that no development funds were being provided to him despite the fact that he had cast vote in favour of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
On a point of order, MNAs Maulana Jamaluddin and Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that steps should be taken for honourable return to homes of those who had left North Waziristan for Afghanistan due to the operation Zarb-e-Azb.
Upon this, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that steps would be taken in collaboration with the Interior Ministry to bring back those Pakistanis honourably.
Dar informed the House that the government had a comprehensive plan for rehabilitation and return of the internally displace persons (IDPs) who, he said, had rendered supreme sacrifices for the country.
He said that complete rehabilitation and respectful return of the IDPs to their native areas was the government’s top priority. He said a separate cell had been set up in the Economic Affairs Division for welfare of the IDPs. He told the lawmakers that Rs.20 billion worth wheat was provided to the IDPs through the World Food Programme while a sum of Rs 17 billion cash was also disbursed among them.
The finance minister further said that an amount of Rs 80 billion was specified for rehabilitation of TDPs, adding that a proposal was also on the cards to pay lump-sum amount to the TDPs for construction of their houses and rehabilitation. The Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), FATA Secretariat and other state institutions were engaged in ensuring dignified return of the IDPs to their hometown, he added.
Dar said the government was also ready to take necessary steps for those IDPs who had gone to Afghanistan if details were provided. The minister further said that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) would play its role in ensuring payment of salaries to employees of the HMC. He said he would check where the Ministry of Industries had sent summary to for payment of salaries to HMC employees.
Meanwhile, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal told the House that a sum of $35 billion out of the total $46 billion under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was for energy-related projects, and the rest for other projects.
If I will write comments against PPP, someone in Pakistan Today would not approve. But my comments are my opinion. All said, Bilawal did not mention of the Guard of Honour presented to Gen Musharraf by the PPP Government while leaving the Presedency. Nor did he say anything of not solving the case of self-killing of his mother during the five years of Mr 10%'s rule. His own mother was in self-exile for years and returned under a deal and now his father is in self-exile after spewing venom against the Army and CAOS. He (AAZ) has even joined his ex-US ambassador Hussain Haqqani, himself an absconder from the Courts, and both are conspiring against the interest of the country. Many more are saying it for the sake of saying 'something'.
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