Saira Bano, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) and spokesperson for Sindh’s Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), has refused to donate her one-month salary to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund set up for the flood-affected people, saying she does not trust the government, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Friday. In a letter to National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, she said she would rather prefer to give the money to charities like AlKhidmat Foundation or JDC. She wrote that these days the country was confronted with worst floods in its history, and those affected by the calamity needed urgent relief and rehabilitation. “And although different charities are appealing to people for donations, only the time will tell whether these amounts were spent in a transparent manner,” she said, and added, “I have learnt that you Mr. Speaker has deducted one-month salary of each MNA for depositing it in the prime minister’s Fund without consulting him or her. And even the Fund was set up in haste; without taking all the parliamentary parties on board.

This certainly raises questions over the transparency of the whole process.” Saira went on to add that it was up to each parliamentarian to donate money to the organization of his or her choice. “Therefore, instead of depositing my one- month salary in the prime minister’s Fund, I will ask you to equally distribute it between AlKhidmat and JDC, and I be given its receipt.” she wrote. Later talking to a news agency, she confirmed she had written a letter to the NA speaker as well as the NA secretary and the auditor general in which she had asked them not to deposit her one-month salary in the Fund set up by the prime minister for the flood victims. Secondly, she added, the speaker squandered Rs750 million on Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the country’s independence. “If the same amount had been spent on the flood-affected people, the situation would have been different,” she added. Saira made it clear that if her salary was spent for some other purpose, she would not remain silent.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP