Despite fierce opposition by one of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s coalition partners, the Awami National Party (ANP), the Senate passed the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) Bill of 2011 with a majority vote on Tuesday to establish a private power and infrastructure board, a statutory institution as required by foreign donor agencies.
However, the House adopted several amendments proposed by the opposition parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). Senators from the ANP, PML-N, and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) said the legislation would be infringing upon the provincial autonomy granted under the 18th Amendment regarding the construction of hydroelectric power projects in any province.
Despite strong opposition by the ANP, Senate Chairman Farooq H Naek put the bill to vote, which was passed with a majority vote on the assurance of Water and Power Minister Naveed Qamar that the functions of PPIB would not usurp the rights of the provinces.
The statement of objectives and reasons of the bill stated that although PPIB was established in 1994 through a notification, the non-statutory status of the institution had been blocking investment as well as financing from donor agencies. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) even made the statutory status of PPIB one of the conditions of its multi-tranche financing facility extended to the government of Pakistan.
It also indicated that in litigation cases, the Supreme Court had also shown its serious concerns over PPIB’s legal status and its powers to sue and be sued in its own name and for and on behalf of the president. The bill states that legal status of the PPIB has already been called into question in litigation in the backdrop of large-scale reforms for private sector participation in power generation and related infrastructure.
The members of the Senate also gave a standing ovation to delegation of Afghan parliamentarians when it arrived in the House to witness the proceedings. A German delegation of parliamentarians also visited the Upper House, receiving a warm reception from the lawmakers.
Senator Col (r) Syed Tahir Mashhadi, the chairman of the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures and Privileges, presented the revised report of the committee on proposed rules of procedure and conduct of business in Senate.
The Senate chairman referred a privilege motion of Senator Zahid Khan to the house committee in which he accused the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) of not presenting the figures of its advertisements given to print and electronic media, which he termed a breach of privilege of the House.
Separately, Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the House that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was investigating seven financial scams at the moment. The minister told the Senate in a written reply that a case had been registered by FIA Karachi regarding import of substandard wheat sold at exorbitant prices by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) in 2008-09, involving some Rs 10 billion. “The final challan against the accused would be present soon with the permission of the Sindh FIA director in this regard,” he added.
He told the House that another case regarding the land scam of the National Police Foundation of selling 600 kanals of land for a housing scheme at Sector E-11, Islamabad, was registered with FIA, Islamabad. “The accused is on judicial remand while the investigations are being finalised by the field directorate,” the minister told the House.
Malik said the cases regarding to the land purchase for the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation and illegal purchase of land by funds from the accounts of National Assembly Employees Cooperative Housing Society were pending in court. He said the ministry had taken action against 10 officials of the Passport Office who were involved in corruption during the last five years.
Responding to another question, Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that Pakistan Television (PTV) had paid Rs 713 million for medical bills of its employees during the last two years.
