When asked repeatedly at a press conference about disparity between his stance on the issue and that of the PMLN, Mr Dar said: “I am not responsible for everybody in the party.” Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on the Implementation of the 18th Amendment Senator Raza Rabbani, Senator Zahid Khan of the ANP and Federal Minister for Petroleum Naveed Qamar were present on the occasion.
In reply to a question, the PML leader said: “I was out of the country since Feb 25 for personal reasons, but I am here to categorically clear whatever Senator Raza Rabbani has said on devolution of the HEC. I fully support that.” Parroting the statement made at the outset of the press conference by Raza Rabbani, Senator Dar said the only issue which people should understand was that the HEC was not being devolved, but its functions were being redefined.
Asked as if his statement should be taken as a formal stand of the PML-N on the HEC issue, Mr Dar sidestepped the question and said: “Whatever I am saying is the position under the Constitution after the passage of the 18th Amendment.” He criticised the media and certain political commentators for politicising the HEC issue for no genuine reasons.
He said the University Grants Commission, which was replaced by the HEC, had a role like a post office in transferring funds to the universities. However, the HEC had been given a much bigger role by the former military regime and the implementation commission was reviewing that role, Senator Dar said.
PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal has repeatedly said that his party was opposing the HEC devolution on principles. Interestingly on Tuesday, Mr Iqbal also forcefully denied the claim made by some people that his party’s Senator Ishaq Dar had supported the HEC devolution in the meetings of the Parliamentary Commission on the Implementation of the 18th Amendment.
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