After one-and-half-year long wait by senators since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came into power, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif finally graced the Senate on Monday for the first time and said, "I give equal importance to both National Assembly and Senate".
Addressing the Upper House of Parliament, the prime minister said that the Senate was playing a useful role for the country and he had every regard for it. About his consistent absence from the house despite protest by the Opposition MPs, he said he would come to the house and would interact with the senators. "I just came to say Salam to both treasury and opposition members because I enjoy very good relations with the members of both the sides [and] besides we all were missing each other," the premier said with a smile on face as it was his first address to Senate.
The Leader of the Opposition in Senate Chaudhary Aitzaz Ahsan said that the Opposition was quite worried as the prime minister continuously ignored them, adding one year passed and they continuously kept waiting for him. He said that the Opposition was curious to hear the prime minister about important issues such the talks with Taliban, his recent trip to India to participate in the swearing-in of the newly elected Indian Prime Minister Naredra Modi, the burgeoning issue of load-shedding, etc.
"I would humbly submit to the prime minister that some of his cabinet ministers are in a huff with us without any reason...the senators are educated people but they [ministers] just take slight criticism to the heart," Aitazaz said without mentioning the name of the Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, who has stopped coming to Senate after the Opposition senators protested over one of his statements on the floor of the house.
FINANCE BILL, 2014 Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Finance laid a copy of the Finance Bill, 2014, containing the annual budget statement, in Senate, under Article 73 of the constitution, for making recommendations, if any, thereon to the National Assembly. Chairman Senate Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari directed the members to submit their proposal which will be then sent to the committee by June 16 for possible incorporation in the final budgetary document.
ANTI-TERRORISM (SECOND AMENDMENT) BILL, 2014 Senator Talha Mehmood presented the report of the Senate Standing Committee on interior and narcotics control, presented a report of 'Anti-Terrorism (Second Amendment) Bill, 2014' in the house. The house was adjourned to meet again on Wednesday at 5pm.
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