It is pertinent to mention that not only the federal and state ministers are among the violators but the NA Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are also occupying two government accommodations.
Besides, top leaders of two political parties, Asfandyar Wali Khan and Maulana Fazlur Rehman are also on the list of those parliamentarians who are enjoying two accommodations causing loss to national exchequer.
It is pertinent to mention here that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had clearly directed his cabinet members that those enjoying the facility of two government residences in the Federal Capital should quit one accommodation of their own choice. “The Prime Minister had firmly said on the floor of the House that those who did not follow the direction would be asked to do so adding ‘they should to make a choice either to quit the cabinet or one official residence’”, an MNA of the ruling party quoted.
It is a legal and ethical binding for a particular minister (as in the case of government employees, both the provincial and the federal) that when he takes charge of his portfolio, he should either vacate flat allotted to him in the Parliament Lodges as MNA or he does not avail himself of the residence in Ministers’ Enclave.
However, a large number of ministers despite getting houses in the Ministers’ Enclave have not bothered to vacate flats in the Parliament Lodges. This practice is causing loss in bulk to the national exchequer negating the tall claims of Prime Minister that the incumbent government was focusing to reduce its own expenditures and was pursuing austerity measures.
TheNation has learnt that ministers who possessed two government accommodations one in the Parliament Lodges and the other in Minister’s Enclave, included Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for Housing and Works Rehmat Ullah Kakar, Federal Minister for Population and Welfare Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Samina Khalid Ghurki, Federal Minister for Youth Affairs Shahid Hussain Bhutto, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi, Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Federal Minister for Petroleum Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister of State for Shipping Sardar Nabil Ahmed Gabol, Federal Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme Farzana Raja, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Mian Manzoor Ahmad Watto, Minister of State for Finance Hina Rabbani Khar, Defence Minister Ch Ahmad Mukhtar, Federal Minister for Science & Technology Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Minister for Food & Agriculture Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Minister of State for Interior Tasnim Ahmed Qureshi, Minister for Planning and Development Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din, Minister for States and Frontier Regions Najamuddin Khan, Federal Minister for Textile Industry Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan, Asfandyar Wali Khan a prominent leader of Awami National Party (ANP), Sardar Latif Khosa Former Attorney General and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam.It was also learnt that although the above-mentioned ministers are not residing in flats allotted to them in the Parliament Lodges, yet their personal assistants, relatives and close aides hailing from their constituencies were residing there.
A senior officer in the administration on condition of anonymity told this scribe that the kin of the ministers residing there and their frequent movement in the Parliament Lodged was a security threat for the MNAs living there in the prevailing condition of law and order. Beside, there are a number of MNAs who have been waiting for their turn to get government accommodation in the Parliament Lodges. But all their efforts are in vain so far due to the influence of ministers.
Earlier, a few days ago a case surfaced when a ruling party’s minister refused to vacate his flat in the Parliament Lodges in spite of the fact that the residence was officially allotted to Palwasha Khan, an MNA of the ruling PPP.
