MNAs slam ministerial absence, concerned at outages, overpricing

ISLAMABAD: Members from both sides of the aisle in the National Assembly on Thursday criticised the absence of ministers from the house, raising concerns during points of order.

Following the Question-Hour in the National Assembly, most of the session was consumed by points of order, with only one calling attention notice being addressed.

The issue of exorbitant prices charged by shopkeepers at service areas on motorways and national highways was raised through a calling attention notice by Asiya Aziz Tanoli, Zahra Wadood Fatemi and Ibrar Ahmed.

Responding to the notice, Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan said that provincial governments’ local magistrates are responsible for monitoring prices and quality of products.

Minister Khan assured the National Assembly that his ministry will ensure that market prices and product quality at tuck shops and restaurants along motorways are regulated.

Meanwhile, Abdul Latif of PTI highlighted the government’s payment of over Rs2,000 billion in capacity charges to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) while the public continues to suffer from eight to 10 hours of loadshedding.

Sheikh Waqas Akram from Jhang criticised the Balochistan politicians in power for failing to meet the aspirations of Baloch people, despite holding prominent positions like prime minister and chairman of the Senate. He said that four people from his constituency were targeted in a terrorist attack in Balochistan, resulting in three deaths and one serious injury, but no relief has been provided to the affected families.

Opposition member Saleem Rehman highlighted the ongoing electricity crisis, saying that some areas face up to 18 hours of loadshedding, forcing people to sell their household goods to pay their electricity bills. He also condemned the treatment of PTI founder Imran Khan in jail.

Umair Khan Niazi pointed out that the country lost $22 billion due to the loss of 35 million hectares of water from the Chashma Barrage flowing into the sea.

Osama Ahmed criticised the government for allowing sugar exports while keeping sugar prices at Rs140 per kg. He also called for action against wheat importers and urged the government to buy wheat from farmers and allow them to export it.

Pakistan Muslim League’s Tahira Aurangzeb, speaking on a separate point of order, questioned the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Bangladesh’s historic success in cricket Test matches in Rawalpindi. She called for reconsideration of cricket player selection process.

Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sharmila Farooqui voiced opposition to the dismissal of employees from Basic Pay Scale 1 to 16. She questioned who could be heard in the absence of ministers in the house. She also raised the issue of Qaisar Bengali’s resignation from the special rightsizing committee, saying the government ignored his suggestions, leading to his resignation.

Farooqui also criticised the ongoing loadshedding in Karachi.