Senator seeks parliamentary probe into ‘economic downfall’

Concerns over the country’s financial deterioration echoed in the Senate on Tuesday, with a treasury lawmaker calling for a parliamentary probe into the causes of economic downfall over the past 10 years. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui suggested forming a committee comprising lawmakers to review the causes of economic downfall since 2013. In a wide-ranging speech on the floor of the house, Mr Siddiqui chided political parties for indulging in “blame game” as he called for “introspection beyond political divisions”. He said the parties kept criticising each other but were not ready to examine the real causes behind problems faced by the country today. The senator added that ex-dictator retired General Pervez Musharraf suspended the Constitution twice, but did not go to jail for even a single day.