The government had to face embarrassment in Senate due to lack of quorum and the house was adjourned for half an hour to complete the required number of Senators. Soon after the recitation from the Holy Qura'an, PML-Q senator Sardar Jamal Laghari pointed out that the House could not be run under the rules as it lacks quorum.
Chairman Senate Farooq Naek advised the Secretary to count the members and there were only 20 members at the time against the required 25 for the completion of the quorum.
On Chairman's directives bells were rung for five minutes and members present in the lobbies rushed to the House, but even then the quorum could not be completed, and the Chairman had to adjourn the House for half an hour under the parliamentary rules. When the House met after 30 minutes it again lacked quorum. The speaker tried to take the agenda item, but PML-Q Senator Tariq Azeem again diverted his attention towards the quorum. When counting was conducted there were only 24 members and the speaker again asked to ring the bells. After ringing the bells incessantly and the house could not completed the quorum due to short of one member. PPP senators and leader of the House Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari ran here and there in a bid to seek some time to complete the quorum. At the eleventh hour, MQM Senator Abdul Khaliq Pirzada appeared in the house and avoided the possible adjournment of the session.
Despite being the private members day and even the members who have included their business in the agenda item were not present and except two out of 15 agenda items were deferred. Later, the House opposed a bill to further amend in the 18th Amendment to include a clause for giving representation to Fata people in the Council of Common Interests tabled by Fata Senator Hafiz Rashid. Meanwhile, the Senate debated and referred a resolution moved by Senator Haji Ghulam Ali seeking to extend the age limit up to 35 years for getting government job.
Majority of the members from both sides of the aisles supported the resolution and sought government co-operation for not only passage of the resolution, but also implementing it in letter and in spirit. However, after getting the sense of the House, the chair referred the resolution to the concerned committee and asked to submit a report to the House.
Those who spoke in favour of the resolution, including Senators Abdul Khaliq Pirzada, Zafar Ali Shah, Zahid Khan, Hafiz Rashid, Maulana Gul Nasib Khan, Abdul Rahim Mandokhail and Raja Zafarul Haq. They said that there should no age limit for getting an employment in the government. The lawmakers contended that the youth often face constraints pertaining to age once they completed their education and got some experience. PML-N Senator Syed Zafar Ali Shah proposed that the age limit should be extended up to 65 years for government jobs and to block those who again hold lucrative and executive positions after retirement. The members observed that those who do not have influence or money could not get jobs in the government sector due to nepotism.
However, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari and PM Advisor Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gull contended that the age limitation is essential for giving chances to the young graduate in the government's sector. Senator Hamayoon Akhter, Abdul Haseeb Khan and Senator Suraya did not favour the resolution and urged the government to create conducive atmosphere for creating job opportunities in private sectors.'
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