Summary Haji Adeel demands that salaries of top army officers, judges and bureaucrats be decreased by 50%.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Opposition Senators in the Senate criticized government for rising prices of essential commodities in the country.
Awami National Party (ANP) leader Haji Adeel stressed upon adopting simple way of life. He demanded that salaries of top army officers, higher judges and bureaucrats should be reduced by 50 percent.
“Atom bomb is not protecting us whereas we have been compelled to defend it”, Haji Adeel said.
He said all political parties remained silent when the weapons were being shifted to Afghanistan through Pakistan and now its withdrawal is being halted.
Senator Raza Rabbani of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said a Tsunami of inflation had hit the country while the government was paying no attention to skyrocketing prices of even daily use vegetables including tomato, onion and potato.
He said the government on the one hand is giving attractive incentives to the privileged and capitalist class while on the other‚ lives of people have been made miserable with the increase in the prices of essential commodities.
Rabbani said prices of fuel have gone down in the international market but the benefit of this has not been passed on to the Pakistani people. He said that bills of electricity have become unaffordable for the poor people.
Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi of MQM said that price of bread in the country was higher than the life of a common man. He said that the government has failed to address public issues.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Privatization Khurram Dastagir Khan on behalf of the Finance Minister told the House during question hour that transactions such as issuance of five years Pakistani investment bonds and cash payment out of federal consolidate fund were carried out to settle to settle the power sector circular debt. He said in the first phase a payment of 341 billion rupees was transparently made to 31 entities.
The State Minister said that payment of circular debt helped increase electricity generation and set the wheel of economy into motion.
Senator Sughra Imam raised a question that from where the money came in federal consolidate fund which the minister could not expain.
Upon this the opposition started making ruckus while Deputy Chairman Senate Sabir Baloch reserved the answer of the question after issuing warning to the Senators.
Abbas Khan Afridi said there is dire need to enhance tax base in order to put the country on the path of sustainable development.
Chairman Standing Committee on Defense and Defense Production Mushahid Hussain Sayed presented before the house report titled “Cyber Security Manual for Journalists‚ 2013”.
While laying the report‚ Mushahid Hussain Sayed said this manual is an effort on the part of the committee to help the government prepare cyber security strategy in order to deal with the threats posed by cyber crimes.
Kamil Ali Agha said Pakistan is an agricultural country but regretfully the prices of daily used items including those of vegetables have increased unprecendently in the last six months.
Others who spoke on the issue included Khalida Parveen‚ Saeed Ghani and Humayun Khan Mandokhel.
Later, Deputy Chairman adjourned the Senate session till Thursday morning.
