Speaking in the Senate, PML-N leader Raja Zafar-Ul-Haq said that as per the media reports, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has refused to approve the government's plan of installing Rental Power Plants (RPPs) on the grounds that it would increase power tariff by 45 percent.
He deplored that the government was ignoring the severe water crises being faced by the country. Professor Khurshid Ahmed of Jamaat-i-Islami said that Pakistan was in a position to generate sufficient and cheap electricity through hydel projects, but unfortunately some political forces had made this a controversial issue. He urged the government to review its policy, as power generation through RPPs was not a long-term solution to the prevailing energy crisis.
He showed grave concern over the Secretary of Defence Robert Gates's visit to India along with a delegation of 125 US officials, saying the US delegation is on a visit to India to discuss the Afghan issue. Opposition leader in Senate, Wasim Sajjad, said that power crisis was posing serious threats to the very existence of the country.
He called for bringing the Frontier Constabulary under the chief minister's control. Earlier, Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bazenjo told Senate that a few days ago FC personnel opened indiscriminate fire on a peaceful students' rally, killing two Baloch students.
Dr Muhammad Ismail Buledi said that some forces were trying to derail the peace process initiated in the province, urging the government to take immediate steps for improving the situation. The killings of two Baloch students were unanimously condemned by the house. State Minister for Interior Tasneem Qureshi informed the house that the government had initiated an inquiry into the killings of Baloch students in Khuzdar district and the house would be informed about the findings of the inquiry.
Mian Raza Rabbani also regretted the incident and said that the FC has no justification to kill the people and this practice must end. Wasim Sajjad said that a free and fair inquiry of the incident should be conducted and the culprits must be brought to justice.
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Abdul Razaq Thaheem informed the upper house that the Prime Minster has approved to increase the development funds of parliamentarians from Rs 10 million to Rs 20 million annually. On a point of order, Senator Ghafoor Haidri said that government should fulfil all the promises made with the people of Balochistan to end their sense of deprivation.
Senator Haji Adeel urged government to protect and provide all the basic rights to Pakhtoon people, who are living in Sindh for several decades. Adeel was of the view that most of the Pakhtoon students have no domicile or National Identity Card due to which they face problems in admission in colleges.
Raza Rabbani said that government would remove the sense of deprivation among the Baloch people, and fulfil all the promises made with them. He said that Aghaaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package was a first step to resolve all the problems of Baloch people.