Senate panel to summon KE chief through police

The Senate Standing Committee on Power unanimously decided to summon through police the chief executive officer (CEO) of K-Electric and to move a privilege motion against him for continuous abstention from meetings of the panel.

At the outset of the meeting presided over by Senator Saifullah Abro, the committee expressed its displeasure over the non-participation of K-Electric CEO Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi in the committee meetings.

Mr Abro said that the KE's CEO had also stayed away from the previous meeting during which he was instructed to attend the next meeting and brief the committee on questions raised by members. The KE representative and the senior officers of the Power Division were told to ensure his presence but in vain.

"If such hooliganism happens, it will not continue", Mr Abro said, adding that he will use the option of summoning him through the police. After the mutual consensus of the members, the committee wrote a letter to the Senate chairman with a request to issue the summon notice to the K- Electric chief executive. The committee also unanimously decided to move a privilege motion against Mr Alvi on his absence from the committee.

The panel also discussed the absence of Power Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan from the committee's meetings. It also wrote an on-thespot letter to the Senate chairman regarding the continuous absence of the power minister and the committee members signed the letter. The members observed that the privilege of the committee was undermined when the federal minister did not come despite being called several times.

Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of K-Electric Saadia Dada said she was representing the CEO and repeatedly said that she was ready to answer all the questions however the senators believed that a person from the marketing was not eligible to give a briefing regarding the development plans and investments made by K-Electric since 2006 till date.

The committee members restrained the KE representative to give a briefing in the absence of the CEO. However, the chairman committee gave chance to Ms Dada and inquired about the Rs475bn investments reportedly made by the private power utility but she could not elaborate on various aspects.

The second round of the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting convened reiterated its resolve to have "zero tolerance" for terrorism in the country, according to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The moot - the principal decision-making forum on foreign policy and national security - was attended by senior civilian and military leaders with key matters of security and the economy on the agenda.

A press release issued by the PMO after the meeting's conclusion said the NSC reaffirmed its determination to take on "any and all entities that resort to violence", adding that any violence would be dealt with the "full force of the state".

"Pakistan's security is uncompromisable and the full writ of the state will be maintained on every inch of Pakistan's territory," the press release reads.

It added that the committee was apprised of the country's security situation of the country with a particular focus on recent terrorist incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.