ISLAMABAD: The opposition, once again, strongly protested in the Senate, Monday, against “unbridled inflation and price hike” in the country and staged a walkout from the House which led to the adjournment of Senate’s second consecutive sitting due to lack of quorum.
In the Senate sitting, the opposition members – especially those from mainstream opposition forces—Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) – strongly protested when Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani denied the floor to PPP stalwart Maula Bakhsh Chandio.
The PPP senator wanted to take the floor to highlight alarming inflation and price hike in the country.
However, Sanjrani refused to give Chandio the floor and insisted to complete the House’s regular agenda first.
This attracted the ire of the opposition senators who strongly protested against Sanjrani.
“It is strange, chairman sahib, that inflation and price hike have destroyed the people of Pakistan but you are pretending as if nothing has happened. This is extremely unfortunate and regrettable, to say the least,” Chandio said.
The opposition then staged a walkout. Behramand Tangi from PPP pointed out the quorum which was found to be lacking.
The Senate sitting was then adjourned, till Wednesday afternoon, without transacting the proceeding’s agenda.
Earlier on Friday, Tangi had arrived in Parliament House on a bicycle, in protest of massive inflation and price hike, to attend the Senate sitting.
Opposition had strongly protested on Friday too and staged a walkout while the Senate sitting was adjourned abruptly due to lack of quorum.
The federal government is faced with ire of public and political circles for increasing petroleum prices by more than 18 rupees in less than a month. Apart from Senate, the ruling lot is receiving strong backlash in National Assembly too against this hike/inflation.
Meanwhile, the Senate, Monday, passed a unanimous resolution to pay profound homage to “iconic, late Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, for his life long struggle for justice, freedom and self-determination of Kashmiri people against the Indian illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Presented by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the resolution strongly condemned the “suppressive acts of Indian occupation forces snatching of the mortal remains of Syed Ali Shah Geelani from his family members.”
It denounced the “unceremonious burial of the great leader in gross violation of the basic human rights norms, reflecting rage, tyranny and barbarianism of Indian occupation forces.”
The resolution recommended that Pakistan should continue to take up the issue of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (1IOJK) at all regional and international fora including the United Nations.
It urged upon the international community to take notice of the India’s “callous and inhumane handling of the situation violating all civil and human rights norms in the occupied valley.” It called upon India to stop the harassment of the family members of Syed Ali Geelani and drop orchestrated charges against them.
It demanded that India should immediately release the detained Kashmiri political leaders and youth in arbitrary detention in jails across India.
The document urged upon New Delhi to allow unhindered access to the UN observers, international human rights and humanitarian organisations as well as international media into IIOJK to assess the ground realities.
It demanded India to immediately lift the inhumane military siege in IIOJK and remove restrictions on the media, internet, mobile communications, movement of people and peaceful assembly.
The resolution denounced the illegal measures to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory.
It called upon India to stop extrajudicial killings of Kashmiri youth in fake encounters and cordon-and-search operations.
Finally, the document demanded of India to reverse and revoke the “illegal and unilateral steps of August 5, 2019 and allow Kashmiris to exercise their right of self-determination in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Councils’ resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.”
Apart from that, chairman Senate has sought report from authorities in Sindh over the murder of a woman in Qambar Shahdadkot.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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