Will MNAs allow Army’s real estate business? by Rauf Klasra

[LahoreEstate]

Monday, December 07, 2009

By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: Amongst a horde of unsavoury legacies left behind by General (retd) Musharraf is the controversial Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Ordinance that may well spark a confrontation between the PPP and the PML-N members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence, which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to decide the fate of this ordinance.

Sources told The News that a fundamental difference existed between the two sides on the key issue i.e. should the Army have the right to engage in real estate business of making housing societies etc and should the elected members give a legal cover to such commercial endeavours of the military through an act of parliament.

A source said the PPP members were said to be backing this proposed bill to give sweeping powers to the top management of the DHA so as to please the top military command. But the PML-N MNAs were strongly opposed to this idea to give legal right to the Army to further expand its “real estate” business by getting a legal status through an act of parliament. Sources said the PML-N MPs were of the view that it made no sense to allow sweeping powers to any military-run real estate management authority without making its top management answerable to the civilian leadership and institutions.

General (retd) Musharraf had issued the DHA Islamabad Ordinance about five years back to set up an authority in Islamabad on the pattern of Karachi and Lahore by giving sweeping powers to its top uniformed management. The sole purpose of the new proposed bill was to give an independent status to the DHA and refrain civic bodies and other relevant government agencies from looking into the DHA affairs. But for whatever reasons, somehow the law could not be passed from the previous handpicked parliament of the fallen dictator.

Meanwhile, anticipating fireworks in its Tuesday’s meeting, the Committee Chairperson, MNA Dr Azra Fazal (sister of President Asif Ali Zardari), has barred the media from covering the proceedings. Sources claimed that the sensitive issue of banning the media had turned so serious in its last meeting that voting had to be held to decide the issue. The PPP dominated committee, backed by its chairperson, had prevailed and got a motion approved to ban the media. PML-N MNAs Ayaz Amir, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi and Begum Ishrat Ashraf had supported the presence of the media but lost out on the vote count.

Talking to The News, MNA Ayaz Amir said it was strange to see a democratic government banning the media’s presence. He argued that by keeping media persons away from such meetings, they would not be doing service to anyone, as in that case, how the nation could come to know what these committees and their members were doing.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=25936