Feb.19, 2010

The Senate on Thursday decided to refer the Anti-Money Laundering Bill 2010, as passed by the National Assembly, to the committee concerned for detailed discussion.

Minster of State for Economic Affairs and Statistics Hina Rabbani Khar, on behalf of Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen, moved the bill in the House. Explaining the bill, she said the government wanted to constitute a legal framework to stop money laundering.

Khar informed the Senate that before being debated in the National Assembly, the bill was referred to the committee of Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and later discussed in the National Assembly.

“President Zardari promulgated the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance in 2009 and then National Assembly passed the bill on January 11, 2010,” she said.

Opposition Leader Wasim Sajjad, Senator Khursheed Ahmed and others appreciated the contents of the bill. They asked the chair to send the bill to the concerned standing committee before a final discussion. On their recommendations, Deputy Senate Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali referred the bill to the committee.

On a call-attention notice of Senator Khursheed, Federal Initiatives Minister Lal Khan informed the House that around 6,585 water plants would be installed in every tehsil during the next three to four months to provide clean drinking water.

During discussion on inflation and the overall economic situation in the country, Senator Khursheed suggested the establishment of a special committee to submit recommendations before the next budget.

He lamented that only Rs 6 billion have been spent under the Benazir Bhutto Income Support Program (BISP) out of the allocated Rs 70 billion. Khursheed also criticised the government for spending funds meant for civic amenities on the war against terror. He said the government has spend Rs 108 billion on maintenance of law and order, but the situation remains unsatisfactory. Khursheed said the rupee devaluation has badly affected the foreign trade of the country.

Senator Saleem Saifullah endorsed Khursheed’s views and suggested establishing a special committee to solve the problems of inflation and unemployment.