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I want a Merc: Soomro

By Zulfiqar Ghuman

ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Muhammadmian Soomro will buy a luxury Mercedes-Benz car from taxpayers’ money to mirror National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain (who got one last year), sources told Daily Times.

Sources said that Soomro on Tuesday sought a verbal approval from the Senate’s finance committee for the vehicle’s purchase. “The Senate chairman wanted to take committee members into confidence before submitting a formal proposal in this regard, but the issue could not be discussed due to time constraints,” they added.

Senate Secretary Raja Muhammad Amin launched the proposal in the committee meeting, saying that a Mercedes-Benz car was “required” for protocol. “The assembly purchased a Mercedes for the speaker last year and now the chairman needs one,” the secretary was quoted as saying. The vehicle for the NA speaker cost the national exchequer around Rs 11 million last year and drew a lot of criticism from within and outside the parliament.

Meanwhile, a press release issued by the Senate Secretariat after the meeting said the committee unanimously approved the miscellaneous expenditures incurred to the secretariat. The committee also approved the budget estimates for the year 2006-07, the press release added.

The Senate chairman in his opening remarks lauded the performance of the committee. He called upon the committee members to opt for austerity measures while spending the public money. Besides the Senate chairman, the meeting was attended by Senators Muhammad Ali Durrani, Mrs Razina Alam Khan, Ahmed Ali, Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Prof Khurshid Ahmed and Mrs Rukhasna Zubairi.

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