ISLAMABAD : Hashish smokers should be stopped from lighting up withinParliament Lodges’ premises and be asked to smoke “somewhere outside”,Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwalla held on Thursday when a colleagueof his complained of ‘feeling dizzy’ after inhaling second-hand smoke inthe lodges.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) Senator Samina Saeed complained that“Drivers smoke hashish inside the Parliament Lodges and are sometimesjoined by policemen for a drag” during a session of the Senate HouseCommittee — which overlooks the overall upkeep of the Parliament.
“My head starts spinning because of the hashish when I pass through thatarea,” Senator Samina said, adding that once when she passed by the lodges,she started “feeling dizzy” by the time she reached her room.
The committee, chaired by the deputy speaker, subsequently recommended anend to hashish smoking in the lodges.
“Those smoking hashish should be stopped, they can go outside somewhere andsmoke it,” Senator Mandviwalla said.
Illegal occupation of rooms in the Parliament Lodges and the prevalence ofrats also came under discussion in the committee.
Officials told the committee that PTI MNA Murad Saeed and his driver areillegally residing in the lodges which are intended for the use ofsenators, after which the committee ordered Saeed to vacate his room.
The committee’s chair also admonished the Capital Development Authority(CDA) for its failure to resolve the issue of rat infestation and to keepthe toilets in the parliament clean.
“It appears that the police shall have to be called in to catch rats,” amember remarked.
Nearly 3.6 per cent of Pakistan’s population uses cannabis, according to aUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report in 2013, making it the mostcommonly-used drug in the country.