Parliament to decide about Rs 2.9 billion 'Parliament Lodges' project: Prime Minister

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that Parliament would decide about the Rs2.9 billion Parliament Lodges' project. The Prime Minister said this while responding to the question raised by Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan regarding the project. He said that there was a need of Parliament Lodges because the strength of the National Assembly and Senate had been increased.
"This project was invoked in 2008 and CDWP along with the Chairman of Planning Division have approved it in December 2009 while ECNEC also gave its approval in January, 2010. The Committee of the National Assembly on House and Library also approved it," he said.
The Prime Minister said that the project would be completed in two to three years and the government had allocated Rs410 million for the project in the budget. "It is purely a project of Parliament Affairs' Division. We will refer this project to the House and it will decide," he said.
To another point raised by Opposition Leader, he said that the President had taken the political leaderships into confidence before going to America. About Karachi targeted killings, the Prime Minister said that Interior Minister Rehman Malik was not in the House due to death of his father-in-law. He said that the Interior Minister would soon brief the House on Karachi targeted killings.
Earlier, leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan raised the issues of Rs3 billion Parliament Lodges, targeted killings in Karachi, president's visit to US and Defence Housing Authority Bill.
He said, "I request the Prime Minster to hold on Rs3 billion project of Parliament lodges. The Parliament members have accommodations but the government should think about the poor who are living without shelter."
He said that today Interior Minister Rehamn Malik was not present in the House. The Minister should have been present in the House and should have briefed the members about Karachi target killings.
About the President's visit to US, the Opposition Leader said that President Asif Ali Zardari met US President Barack Obama but in this regard, the government did not issue any statement. "We have reservations on it and the government should provide details of the meeting to the House," he demanded.
About Defense Housing Authority Bill, he said that the Bill was to be presented in the Parliament during the tenure of General Musharraf (Retd) but the PML-N had strongly opposed it.
He said that the government wanted to lay this Bill in the House. But Law Minister Dr Babar Awan has given assurance to the PML-N that the Bill would not be presented in the Parliament, he said.
Later, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the House that the President had gone to US in his private capacity to participate in burial ceremony of diplomat Richard Hallbroke.
On this occasion, the President met with US president Barack Omaba and discussed the issues of terrorism, economic challenges of Pakistan and commitments made by the US with Pakistan.