Senators from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on Thursday staged a walkout from the Senate proceedings against what they termed the coalition government’s discriminatory attitude towards them by diverting funds announced for the region elsewhere. Speaking on a point of order, FATA Senator Raziq Khan said that national resources were not being distributed judiciously.
He said the prime minister had assured to provide Rs 15 billion for development projects in FATA under the Annual Development Programme (ADP), however only Rs 1 billion had so for been provided. He demanded a raise in FATA’s share in the ADP because the region had suffered the most in the war on terror. He said that elected representatives from FATA were not taken into confidence on the recent visit by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton despite them being part of the coalition government. Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan in response to the walkout staged by senators from Balochistan said the government could not bailout private media organisations.
Senator Raza Rabbani, Syed Zafar Ali Shah and Law Minister Moula Buksh Chandio condemned capitalism, saying it had cast a negative economic impact on people around the globe. Rabbani spoke against privatisation of national institutions such as Pakistan Railways, Pakistan International Airlines and the Pakistan Steel Mills. He asked the government to do away with the financial policies of former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf. He opposed the privatisation of national institutions like Railways, PIA and Pakistan Steel Mills.
