Daily Times

Senators on Monday demanded the upper house of the parliament to ensure measures to remove obstacles to girls’ education in Afghanistan that were causing negative ideological impact along the areas of the country with the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Senator Rubina Khalid of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on a point of public importance highlighted that the curbs on girls’ education in Afghanistan were casting negative ideological impacts along the border region of the country.

She said the House should refer this matter to the committee to work out solutions to address this matter on priority as girls’ education was a prerequisite for nation-building.

Senator Rubina also underlined that the population was the elephant in the room that was rising with every passing year and unfortunately no one was paying attention to it.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) also underscored that the issue of girls’ education in Afghanistan was necessary to address as it had across-the-border impacts due to cultural affinities among both nations. This issue, he said, should be referred to the committee to resolve the problems of girls in merged districts who are likely to be negatively impacted due to the decision of the Afghan government.

He also demanded the attention of the house on issues of missing persons and Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch facing detention due to the Haq Do Gwadar movement. This issue should also be referred to the committee to provide a way for the family of the aggrieved, he added.

Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur of PTI also raised the issue of a controversial question placed in COMSAT University’s paper of English and demanded the House to take up the matter for disciplinary guidelines to address such attacks on social, and religious norms and ethics of the country.

The Chairman Senate referred the matters raised by the Senators to the relevant committees for proper action.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader in the Senate, Dr Shahzad Waseem criticised the government for its irresponsible attitude amidst pressing issues and serious crisis due to terrorism resurgence and economic meltdown.

Meanwhile, the Upper House of the Parliament rejected two bills moved by the members of the House on bringing amendments to the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956 [The State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2022] and Benazir Income Support Act, 2010 [The Benazir Income Support (Amendment) Bill, 2022] citing nature of the motions repugnant to the constitution and technical reasons.

Senator Zeeshan Khan Zada of PTI on behalf of Senator Faisal Saleem presented the bill to amend the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, 1956 before the House. He said the Bill was proposed to shift SBP to Islamabad which was currently in Karachi and therefore, all banks had their head offices in Karachi. The Senator mentioned that if it was shifted to the federal capital then it could help resolve issues of banking and other monetary matters faced by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.

The motion was opposed by the House and was rejected after voting.

Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) moved the Bill to amend Benazir Income Support (BIS) Act, 2010. She maintained that the BIS programme was conceived for supporting the poor which was not conforming to the spiking up inflation. “If inflation is at 40% then whatever they are giving to the people it is not beneficial for the poor masses,” she added.

After the opposition of the House to her motion, Senator Zehri requested the chairman to refer the motion to the committee and the committee members should be allowed to discuss on the matter. The Senator also sought response from the Law Ministry on rejecting the motion.

Minister of State for Law, Shahadat Awan opposed the bill pertaining to SBP Act, 1956. Moreover, he also opposed the Bill on BIS Act amendment that was proposed to link the funding with inflation. He added that it was not advisable as it would impact the budget of the federal government.