ISLAMABAD: Senators from three smaller provinces accused the federation on Tuesday of usurping their fundamental and constitutional rights.

Discussion in the Senate on points of order on distribution of natural gas, federal job quotas and resurrection of the Kalabagh Dam issue triggered noisy protests.

The house witnessed a rumpus when opposition members from Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) lodged a strong protest when PML-N Senator Chaudhry Jafar Iqbal alleged that India was spending Rs12 billion a year on a campaign against Kalabagh dam.

It all started when during the question-hour, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that no new gas scheme would be launched by the federal government in future even on the directive of the prime minister due to a severe shortage of gas.

The announcement infuriated Haji Adeel of the Awami National Party who termed it a violation of the constitution.

The ANP senator said his province had been producing gas which was more than its own requirement and getting gas facility was a constitutional right of provinces.

Haji Adeel went to the extent of demanding that the minister should be tried under Article 6 for making such a statement on the floor of the house.

“We do not need such Pakistan. We want Quaid-i-Azam’s Pakistan,” he said, adding that providing electricity, water and gas to the people was the main responsibility of a government.

Haji Adeel was supported by two PPP senators from Sindh – Raza Rabbani and Hari Ram – who termed the minister’s statement a violation of Article 158 of the constitution.

Mr Rabbani regretted that a number of industrial units had been closed down in Sindh province due to non-availability of gas.

“The provincial autonomy is being violated and the rights of the people of Sindh are being usurped,” he alleged.

Earlier, Mr Rabbani had protested over the absence of Water and Power Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif during the question hour forcing the chairman to defer all questions related to the ministry.

KALABAGH DAM: Speaking on a point of order, PPP’s Mukhtiar Ahmed Dhamra said without naming PTI chairman Imran Khan that the head of a political party had called for a campaign in support of construction of Kalabagh dam which was tantamount to reviving a dead issue. He said such statements were an insult to three provinces which had already adopted resolutions against construction of the dam.

Mr Rabbani challenged Imran Khan to first get a resolution in favour of the dam passed in the assembly of KP where the PTI was heading the coalition.

PML-N’s Chaudhry Jafar Iqbal said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on a number of occasions had stated that the dam would not be built without a national consensus. He asked opponents of the dam to suggest an alternate plan because the country was in dire need of new dams.

There was a commotion in the house when the PML-N senator said that India was behind the campaign against the Kalabagh dam and was spending Rs12 billion annually for this purpose.

Taking the floor again, Mr Dhamra said it appeared that the PML-N senator was suggesting that the assemblies of three provinces had passed resolutions against the dam after receiving money from India.

JOB QUOTA: Another issue which triggered protests was the alleged violation of the quota of provinces in the federal government services.

Kulsoom Parveen of the Balochistan National Party-Awami (BNP-A) alleged that the constitutional provisions regarding the job quota were being violated and the smaller provinces were not getting their due share. She claimed that 40 per cent employees from Balochistan had already been sacked.