Shibli, Rabbani trade barbs on convening Senate session

The leader of the house in Senate Shibli Faraz and former chairman Senate Raza Rabbani traded barbs on Thursday as the former dismissed any possibility of convening Senate session within a fortnight while the latter accused the treasury benches of being held "hostage by unelected brigade of advisers and special assistants".

Exclusively speaking to Business Recorder, separately, Faraz and Rabbani openly expressed their hostility towards one another, with leader of the house in Senate accusing the former Senate chairman of trying to seek 'media's attention' by pressing for Senate session at a time when coronavirus has run riot in the country.

Faraz took the plea that there is no justification for arranging special planes and flights to bring the senators to Islamabad from their respective areas especially Balochistan and other far flung areas, as the least we can do to stem the spread of the deadly pandemic is 'social distancing'.

He continued that in the presence of a parliamentary committee which has representation of all parliamentary political parties from both Senate and National Assembly, there is no need for an emergency session of Senate or standing committees.

"Let's suppose some lawmakers want virtual session of the House and the standing committees, however there is no provision in the Business Advisory Committee of the House, for which an amendment in the rules would be needed, so there is no chance of any session for the next two weeks," he added.

Rabbani refused to buy Faraz's stance, saying parliament has already been sidelined by 'unelected brigade of advisers and special assistants to the prime minister' and shutting down parliament at this testing time would make it completely redundant.

He said that the country is passing through a critical stage and the government is giving financial packages to industrial and other sectors, but no one is being taken into confidence, adding if the parliament did not take the lead, and failed to bring the nation on one page, how the parliamentary oversight can be ensured.

"The equipment and the foreign aid are pouring in [but] there is no oversight where all this money is going...the major ministries which deal with Covid-19 issue right from health ministry, Ehsaas Programme, National Security Committee, Tiger Force, etc...they all are being headed by special assistants to the prime minister which means they all are unelected people," he lamented.

Given the situation and the way the coronavirus pandemic is being handled by unelected people, he added, the parliamentary oversight has become a far cry as not a single elected member of the House has been tasked to take care of coronavirus crisis in the country.

"...In such a situation when parliaments of the world are holding emergency sessions, there is no justification to lock down the parliament, as we all go out for one reason or another [and] the havens won't fall if we assemble for a national cause by taking precautionary measures," he concluded.