ISLAMABAD: The government faced another defeat in the opposition-dominated Senate on Wednesday when the house rejected the controversial Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) Ordinance with a majority vote.

This was the second defeat to the government in two weeks as it had earlier failed to block an opposition-sponsored amendment to the Senate rules binding the prime minister to attend a sitting of the house at least once in a week.

Through the PMDC Ordinance promulgated by President Mamnoon Hussain last month, the federal government had acquired the powers to run the affairs of the council through a seven-member committee.

The resolution to disapprove the ordinance had been moved by PPP senators Farhatullah Babar and Raza Rabbani who termed it a violation of the Constitution and against the spirit of provincial autonomy.

They were of the view that the structure and functions of the regulatory bodies could not be changed without the consent of the provinces through the Council of Common Interests.

Deputy Chairman Sabir Baloch put the resolution before the house for a voice vote.

SECTARIAN ATTACKS:

During the question hour, the opposition rejected the figures provided by the interior ministry about sectarian attacks.

They also criticised the government for admitting that it did not have complete data about the madressahs receiving financial assistance from abroad.

Replying to a question of PPP’s Sughra Imam, Minister of State for Interior Balighur Rehman told the house that a total of 2,090 people had been killed in sectarian attacks in the country since 2008.

He said 104 people had been killed in Punjab, 252 in Sindh, 22 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 737 in Balochistan, 867 in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, 103 in Gilgit-Baltistan and five in Islamabad.

He said 73 people had been convicted in cases of sectarian attacks -- 26 from Punjab, eight from Balochistan and 139 from Gilgit-Baltistan.

The ANP’s Haji Adeel said the figures appeared to be wrong because the minister had stated that only 22 people had been killed in sectarian attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa whereas he could give examples of various incidents in which more than this number of people had been killed in one instance.

The members expressed concern over no convictions having taken place in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said very few people as compared to the number of attacks had been convicted in other parts of the country.

The minister said the information had been provided by the provincial governments. He said many cases were pending in courts and the government was taking several measures to expedite them.

FOREIGN FUNDING:

Replying to another question by Senator Imam, the minister of state said some seminaries were receiving financial support from other Muslim countries and the remittances were received through banking channels. However, he presented a listed of only 15 madressahs which had received foreign financial support during one year.

Ms Imam said thousands of madressahs were functioning in the country but the minister had provided a list of only a few of them.

The minister again admitted that the government did not have complete details about the matter and said more information would be sought from the provinces.

The deputy chairman deferred both the questions for detailed replies.

According to the list, the seminaries which had received foreign funding through the banking sector were: Madressah Rehmania Tahafuzul Quran (from Qatar); Jamiatul Uloom Al Asria (Dubai); Jamiatul Uloom Al Islamiyah (Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates); Jamiat Ahle Hadith Balochistan (Bahrain); Darul Uloom Anwar Mustafa (UAE); Idara Minhajul Quran (UAE and Qatar); Jamiatul Manahil Al Khairia (Kuwait); Madina Masjid (UAE); Madressah Darul Uloom Baltistan (Kuwait); Masjid Gulzar Ghoi (Saudi Arabia); Jamiatul Islam Khushab (Qatar); Jamia Khairul Madaris (Hong Kong); Jamiat Al Huda Al Khairia Welfare Society (Qatar); Islam Trust (UAE) and Dawat-i-Islami (UAE).