A Senate committee meeting descended into controversy on Wednesday after Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeez ur Rehman accused Awami National Party (ANP) chief Senator Aimal Wali Khan of smoking charas (hashish).
The incident took place during a session of the Senate Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas at Parliament House, chaired by Senator Agha Shahzeb Durrani. Tensions flared when Senator Aimal Wali Khan, who had been grilling the PTA chairman over poor telecom infrastructure in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, briefly left the room. Upon his return, the PTA chairman reportedly asked if the senator had been smoking charas.
Senator Aimal Wali Khan reacted angrily, demanding to know who had given a government official the right to make such allegations against an elected representative. He rejected the PTA chairman’s subsequent apology and called for disciplinary action.
Committee Chairman Senator Agha Shahzeb Durrani condemned the PTA chairman’s remarks, calling them an insult to the entire committee and vowing to raise the matter with the prime minister. The PTA chairman left the meeting following the heated exchange.
Earlier in the session, Senator Aimal Wali Khan had criticized the lack of progress in telecom services in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, questioning the effectiveness of billions spent through the Universal Service Fund and demanding detailed reports for the next meeting.
