'Embarrassed' Senate chief finally receives apology from interior secretary

The row between Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani and Secretary Interior Major Azam Suleman Khan (retd) has been finally resolved after the secretary tendered an 'unconditional apology' for remaining absent from the Senate meetings to Sanjrani, which was accepted.

Recently, the chairman Senate sent a letter to the secretary interior seeking explanation regarding his continued absence despite being summoned at the Senate proceedings but no response from the secretary or the Interior Ministry was received, it is learnt.

Apparently embarrassed, the chairman Senate last week urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to take action against the secretary interior, but did not receive a response from the Prime Minister's Office, sources at the Senate Secretariat told Business Recorder.

Sources said that the chairman Senate is under pressure from the opposition benches to summon the senior bureaucrats in demonstration of the Parliament's authority. "The opposition senators want Sanjrani to act authoritatively the way former chairman Senate Raza Rabbani did. Presently, neither Interior Minister Ijaz Shah nor Secretary Interior Azam Suleman shows up at the Senate which is embarrassing for the chairman Senate," according to the insiders.

Requesting anonymity, a senator from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told Business Recorder that the secretary interior did not attend the proceedings of Senate's recently held 294th session, keeping in view that no agenda of the Senate's session that was prorogued on Friday concerned the Interior Ministry. "In the absence of any agenda item relevant to the Interior Ministry, the secretary interior was asked to be present at the session which hardly makes any sense," the source said.

According to the source, the chairman has finally heaved a sigh of relief after the secretary interior finally tendered an apology for his absence from the Senate, and the chairman has immediately accepted the apology while disposing of the matter, it is also learnt.

"The secretary interior has apologized to the chairman Senate on behalf of the officials and officers for failing to attend the proceedings of the Senate and its committees. In a formal communication addressed to the Secretary Senate Muhammad Anwar, the secretary interior has assured to remain careful in future. Explaining his stance, the secretary interior stated that Member CDA Khushal Khan was deputed to attend Senate meeting on November 8, 2019, he was on leave and the director general (Legal), CDA failed to depute an alternate due to which the embarrassing situation erupted. The chairman CDA, the secretary interior said, has been directed to take action against the officers for this negligence. In his letter, the secretary interior observed that the Ministry of Interior places the Parliament and his committees in high esteem and therefore, has assured, while tendering unconditional apology, to remain careful in future," said a press release issued from the Senate on Monday.