A meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Senate Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas was held at Parliament House under the convenership of Senator Dinesh Kumar. The meeting was scheduled to review matters relating to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), including the collection of revenues, expenditure
mechanisms, relevant policies, and details of the Board’s assets.
Committee expressed serious concern over the absence of the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and the Minister of State for Religious Affairs. In protest, the Committee decided to defer the agenda. The Convener, Senator Dinesh Kumar, along with Committee Member Senator Nadeem Bhutto, observed that meaningful discussion and decision-making on the agenda items were not possible in the absence of the concerned ministers. It was also noted that the ministers had failed to attend the previous meeting, despite the importance of ministerial-level participation for effective deliberations.
The Convener stated that the agenda was being deferred as a mark of protest and informed that in case the concerned quarters fail to attend the next meeting, the matter would be taken up before the Chairman Senate and also referred to the Privileges Committee.
Committee decided to seek complete province-wise details of the Evacuee Trust Property Board’s properties, income, and expenditures in the next meeting. The Committee also took serious notice of the non-provision of working papers at least 48 hours prior to meetings, as required under the law, which hampers effective review. The concerned departments were directed to ensure timely submission of working papers in future.
During the meeting, the Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs, informed the Committee that the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs had recently undergone surgery and was therefore unable to attend the meeting.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Committee formally deferred the agenda in protest and decided that all pending matters would be taken up for detailed consideration in the next meeting.
The meeting was attended by Committee Member Senator Nadeem Bhutto, the Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs, and other concerned officials, while the Chairman, Evacuee Trust Property Board, participated in the meeting online.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
