ISLAMABAD: Senator Hafiz Hamdullah stunned the lawmakers in the Senate on Tuesday after he raised the issue of liquor bottles being found at the Parliament Lodges, ARY News reported.
Speaking on the floor of the Upper House, Hamdullah said he was ‘shocked’ that liquor bottles were often found outside the parliament lodges.
Expressing his apparent resentment on the issue, he went on to demand that medical check-up should be conducted of every parliamentarian to ascertain the fact.
He asked whether lower-level staff or those deployed for parliament cleanliness consume liquor.
The Senator said how anyone else could than parliamentarians drink liquor that cost Rs 10,000-15,000 each bottle.
Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani responded to his queries, saying “you must speak to deputy chairman in the chamber about the matter.”
Liquor bottles – not an old ‘discovery’
In February 2014, MNA Jamshed Dasti presented before the media empty liquor bottles which were recovered from alleys of the lodges.
He criticized the statement of the Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who earlier rejected Dasti’s allegations previously.
He had demanded that an inquiry commission should be constituted to verify his claims.
The government had then formed the committee to probe the matter.
On March 11, 2014, the government’s inquiry committee said that submission of empty liquor bottles was not credible evidence to prove Dasti’s claims.
The seven-member committee said non-Muslim lawmakers also lived at the official residential apartments for parliamentarians and were permitted to purchase and consume alcohol.
The meeting, held at the parliament lodges, was also attended by Capital Development Authorities (CDA) officials and examined the evidence submitted by Dasti who had alleged that the Parliament Lodges had become a “den of immoral activities.”
