ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday suffered a defeat in the Senate where a bill seeking to enhance loan disbursement in smaller provinces was passed by the house amidst the government’s opposition on technical grounds.

The motion seeking to take State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill for consideration at once was adopted by a majority vote of 26-20 while two members abstained.

Mover of the bill Senator Mohsin Aziz, while explaining the purpose of the bill, said the share of two provinces — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan — in total loan portfolio of commercial banks was merely 1.35 per cent while the rest of 98.65pc lending goes to Punjab and Sindh. The situation was forcing the owners to shift their industries to other provinces, he said.

Shaukat Fayyaz Tarin, former finance minister, said the issue of resource allocation was not confined to KP and Balochistan, but was also a problem faced by the people of south Punjab, northern Sindh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. He disclosed that 85pc of loans are disbursed in just nine cities of the country — with corporate lending forming 75pc of it.

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Minister of State for Finance Ayesha Ghous Pasha conceded that the disparity needs to be removed but opposed the bill, saying it was a policy matter and no amendment to the act was required to address it. Calling for framing a consensus-based policy, she said, “This is the way forward. Let us sit down and sort it out”.

Ms Pasha was of the opinion that the issue should not be politicised.

Leader of Opposition Dr Shahzad Wasim, however, took exception to the minister’s remarks, saying the house of the federation was the appropriate forum to take up the issues pertaining to rights of the provinces. Other senators from both sides of the aisle supported the bill, which was put to vote and was finally passed.

Bill about members’ arrest

The Senate also unanimously adopted a bill seeking to bar the arrest and preventive detention of lawmakers for specified periods.

The Members of Parliament Privileges Bill, moved by PPP’s Mian Raza Rabbani, states that no member shall be detained under any law pertaining to preventive detention once the session was summoned.

When an FIR is registered or a reference is filed, against a member, the chairman or speaker, as the case may be, shall be informed and a copy of the FIR or reference shall be provided within 24 hours of such registration or filing, it reads.

It says when a member is required to be arrested or is sentenced to be imprisoned by a court or is detained under an executive order, the judge, magistrate or the executive authority shall immediately intimate the chairman or speaker, indicating the reasons for the arrest, detention or imprisonment of the member.

“When a Member of Parliament is summoned by or required to appear before any commission, tribunal, authority, organisation, agency or other, for any investigation or inquiry, as the case may be, the Chairman or Speaker, as the case may be, shall be informed of the same. The concerned authority shall intimate the brief facts/reasons,” it reads.

The bill also seeks to bar the arrest of a member from within the precincts of parliament without the permission of the chairman or speaker.

Money spent on trips

Another highlight of the Senate proceedings was opposition’s criticism of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s foreign visits and a prompt response by a minister.

PTI Senator Faisal Javed called for the placement of details of expenditures incurred on the visits abroad by the prime minister, his cabinet members and other officials. He also wanted details of public money spent on COP-27 and what was the size of the delegation.

While responding to the criticism, Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman said the internatio­nal community commended Pakis­tan’s diplomatic leadership and eff­orts during the COP-27 in Sharm El-Sheikh and the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva.

“This is the first time in Pakistan’s history that a foreign minister is footing the bill for his expenses from his own pocket. Last year, we took a working delegation to COP-27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, where Pakistan’s leadership as the Chair of G77 and China were commended globally as we led from the front, and our diplomatic efforts led to the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund. While the whole world is acknowledging Pakistan’s leadership at the diplomatic stage, it is clear to see that PTI can’t accept Pakistan’s success at a global level.”

She said the government delegations were presenting Pakistan’s case at the international stage. The government invited representatives from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan, which sent out a powerful and rare message of federal unity by Pakistan at a time of extreme political polarisation, she said, adding that provinces presented their plan for reconstruction during the plenary session that was chaired by the foreign minister.

“We decided to put public interest instead of partisan politics at the heart of our policies. While we are putting all our efforts in rebuilding the country, Imran Khan has been busy creating a false narrative of hatred and division and has no concern about 33 million flood victims.”

Resolutions

Besides, the Senate passed resolutions asking the federal government to launch a programme for the establishment of mega-educational cities in the provinces; recommending attaining knowledge of the Holy Quran, the Sunnah, and the seerat of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) at educational institutes from primary to higher level; calling for building international standard hotels within the complex of stadiums in all major cities with the walking approach to the stadiums for cricket players and team officials.

Another resolution passed recommended that the incentive of tax exemption facility provided under the 25th Constitutional Amendment be extended for 10 years from 2023 to 2033 to ensure revival of business activities and kick-start development in the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, adds APP.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2023