ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Palwasha Khan said on Tuesday that the government had issued an ordinance without the signatures of the president, terming it the country’s first “fake ordinance” and warned that Pakistan could not afford such serious constitutional lapses.
Addressing a press conference along with PPP leader Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, Senator Palwasha Khan said the ordinance was promulgated a day earlier without President Asif Ali Zardari’s approval, claiming that even the head of the state had been misled. She said Pakistan had previously witnessed fake degrees, fake medicines and a fake mandate, and now a fake ordinance had been added to the list.
She urged the government to “come to its senses”, warning that such actions could have serious consequences. She said the government later termed the move a mistake but stressed that Pakistan could not afford such errors. “Those responsible for such actions should be removed from the ranks,” she said. She called for the immediate shutdown of what she described as the “factory of fake ordinances”. Reiterating the PPP’s position on privatisation, Palwasha Khan said the party had a clear stance against the government’s privatisation drive, adding that reports suggested privatisation plans were now being extended to the shipping sector as well.
Strongly criticising the government’s privatisation, Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed accused the government of nationalising losses while privatising profits. Citing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as an example, he claimed that assets worth Rs135 billion were sold for only Rs10 billion, describing the move as an outright fraud. He stated that approximately 40 percent of PIA’s revenue comes from the UK routes and alleged that during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure, unrestricted access was granted to foreign airlines, which significantly damaged the national carrier. He also alleged that PIA’s commercial property in Islamabad’s Blue Area was valued at $205 million, yet PIA buildings worldwide were sold at throwaway prices. He further added that issues related to pilots’ licences during the PTI government further weakened the PIA, while a profitable $73 million route was handed over to Qatar.
Chaudhry Manzoor further claimed the government was planning to assume power sector debt amounting to Rs7,000 billion. He said the PPP would expose these privatisation moves before the public and raise the issue in the committees of National Assembly and Senate.
During the press conference, Senator Palwasha Khan and Chaudhry Manzoor also criticised PTI’s political conduct, stating that despite following political traditions by inviting a PTI leader to their home as a gesture of respect, abusive language continued from the PTI side. They claimed the PTI lacked the capacity to mobilise large public gatherings, Jinnah Ground included.
