Islamabad: The Senate session Wednesday was marred by ruckus, with protest and sloganeering from the opposition benches over the National Security Policy not being brought to parliament.
Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani presided over the upper House session, in which the government’s supplementary finance bill and agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), were also criticized.
Opposition benches also protested a lack of transparency on the aforementioned, as per Aaj News.
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman, while commending the National Security Policy's focus on economic security, criticised the manner in which it was unveiled, reported Dawn.
The senator said it was expected that the policy would be brought to the Senate for discussion since it was the "biggest forum for legislation and policymaking".
She pointed that the policy draft was presented in the National Security Committee meeting on December 6 which the opposition had boycotted.
The reason for the boycott, explained Rehman, was that although the opposition had been invited to the meeting, the prime minister did not want to appear. “Unless the premier took feedback and critique [on the policy document], any such meeting would be meaningless,” she added.
Rehman was also critical of what she called the discrepancy between the policy’s purported goal and ground realities while pointing out the government’s introduction of the supplementary finance bill and approaching bilateral donors for loans and concessions.
“What NSP is this which is economically centred that IMF will run?" she asked as members of the treasury benches tried to interrupt her speech.
She also criticised the government’s recent talks with banned outfits, while accusing it of bringing such militant elements into the mainstream.
She also called on the opposition benches to boycott Senate proceedings, which had already seen heated exchanges as well as opposition members approaching the dais of the Senate chairman.
After repeated calls for decorum, Chairman Sanjrani succeeded in convincing the lawmakers to return to their seats.
Army officers employed at Nadra
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, who had previously inquired about the number of retired armed forces personnel either employed at the National Database Registration Authority or on deputation there, said the response he had received was unsatisfactory, reported The Express Tribune.
He also informed the house that his query was about the number of retired armed forces personnel who had been re-employed in Nadra.
Senator Ahmed added that hiring retired military officials on such jobs was an injustice to Pakistan’s youth.
Responding to the JI senator’s querty, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said six people were employed on deputation in Nadra. “They are not retired members of the armed forces,” he added.
The minister said that a separate query had to be submitted for the senator’s concerns to be fully addressed since the current question was regarding people employed through deputation.
Meanwhile, PML-N Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar inquired about details of the number of retired army officers employed, their date of appointment, their responsibilities and whether they had additional qualifications meriting their employment.
He also mentioned a newspaper article in which, he claimed, it was stated that two dozen directors and deputy directors — all retired army officers — were hired at Nadra in one day.
