ISLAMABAD: Things went to the government’s way in the Senate on the opening day of its new session on Monday as ruling party senators rendered the opposition PPP members speechless during debates on the issues of census and privatisation of the PTCL.

The government members, despite in minority, also succeeded in delaying a vote on a resolution moved by PPP’s Sassui Palejo seeking equal representation of all provinces and Fata in the Board of Functional Members and Governing Council of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), which is responsible for holding census in the country.

After hearing speeches from the PPP senators criticising the government for delaying census and for its “failure” to recover outstanding $800 million from the UAE-based company which had purchased the PTCL through a “shabby deal” some 10 years back, firebrand Mushahidullah Khan and Nehal Hashmi of the PML-N took the PPP to task for not doing the same in their five-year tenure.

Mushahidullah taunted the PPP for appointing Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as its finance minister who was responsible for the sale of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) as privatisation minister in the military regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf. “Did you appoint Hafeez Shaikh as minister as a reward for the PTCL deal?” he asked.

Similarly, the PML-N senator reminded the PPP that the census had become due in 2008, the year when the party led by former president Asif Zardari had assumed the power. He asked the PPP members to give any reason for not been able to hold census during their entire five-year tenure.

“It was the PML-N government which had conducted the last census during its two-and-half-year term in 1998,” he boasted. Mr Khan indirectly launched attack on PPP chief Asif Zardari by saying that he was surprised to see PPP’s Khurshid Shah talking against corruption with Mr Zardari’s portrait in the background.

“Today we are clearing your dirt. We clean your dirt daily but unable to clean all the stains,” he said.

Mr Khan also hit out at the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for its criticism on the PTCL deal, saying that the party was the biggest supporter of the government which had signed it.

PML-N’s Nehal Hashmi asked the PPP why it did not make efforts during its five-year in government to recover $800m from Etisalat which had purchased 26 per cent shares of the PTCL.

Though, PPP’s minority member Gianchand in his emotional speech launched tirades against the government and responded to some remarks of the PML-N members, he did not provide any specific replies to the questions raised by them about the PPP’s failure to hold census and recover the outstanding PTCL dues.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2016