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Senators assail Singh’s remarks

By Iftikhar A. Khan 

Members of the Senate have criticised Indian prime minister for accusing Pakistan of promoting terrorism in his country.—Reuters
ISLAMABAD: Members of the Senate criticised Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday for accusing Pakistan of promoting terrorism in his country.
Sardar Jamal Leghari raised the issue in the house, saying that a strong reaction must come on the uncalled for statement made by the Indian prime minister in Russia in the presence of President Asif Ali Zardari.
Leader of the House Nayyar Hussain Bukhari and other members shared his views and Deputy Chairman Jan Mohammad Jamali proposed that a resolution be moved after developing consensus.
A joint resolution is likely to be moved by the leader of the house and the leader of the opposition. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Malik Ammad Ahmed Khan, said Mr Singh’s comments were unacceptable.
He said Pakistan would never allow any force to use its soil for terrorist activities against any country. He said President Zardari had forcefully presented the country’s point of view and expressed concern regarding Indian interference in its internal affairs.
Responding to points of order about arrest of some Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia for their alleged involvement in heroin smuggling, the minister said every possible legal support would be provided to them keeping in view the results of investigation. 
He said efforts would be made to get counsellor access to the detained people and the country’s embassy in Saudi Arabia was striving to get details of the case.
He said Pakistan’s missions abroad were engaged to solve problems faced by members of Pakistani community. 
Taking part in the budget discussion, Leader of the Opposition Waseem Sajjad said a special parliamentary committee formed for implementing the Charter of Democracy (CoD) should also play its role for increasing he powers of the Senate.
He said the power given to the Senate through the 17th Amendment to discuss the budget and give recommendations should be retained if its controversial parts were repealed.
He said a day should be fixed for the National Assembly to discuss the Senate’s recommendations about the budget and reasons for accepting or rejecting them should be given.
He said the government must take full responsibility for the budget. He said the budget did not reflect any vision to overcome the crisis being faced by the nation.
He termed the budget anti-poor and anti-business, saying that lack of steps to promote industries would lead to an increase in unemployment and poverty. He said interest rate should be reduced to 10 per cent. He also opposed withdrawal of subsidies on various items.
Prof Khurshid Ahmed praised the government for not using the finance bill for legislative changes as had been the practice of the previous regime. However, he said, bringing changes in administrative laws through the bill was disappointing.
  
He said the government had started work in a very disappointing atmosphere caused by wrong polices of the previous regime, but it was following the same policies that would not help overcome the crisis.