Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday snubbed Senator Raza Rabbani for unnecessarily making a point to criticise him in a crisis situation for convening the National Health Conference on Dengue Response, telling him that it was aimed at coordination between the federal government and the provinces, which would implement their plans according to their own requirements.
Treasury Senator Raza Rabbani termed the National Health Conference convened by the prime minister at Lahore as not an appropriate forum to discuss the issue in the presence of Council of Common Interests (CCI). Speaking on a point of order in the Senate, he said after the 18th Amendment, health had been devolved and if the PM felt the need to convene a national-level health conference, he should have preferred CCI forum. “PM’s act is in violation of the spirit of 18th amendment,” he added. Senator Professor Ibrahim Khan also endorsed Rabbani’s point of view while Senator Sabir Baloch of the PPP defended the PM for convening the conference.
