Pakistan in Media

ISLAMABAD: Amongst a horde of unsavoury legacies left behind by General (retd) Musharraf is the controversial Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Ordinance that may well spark a confrontation between the PPP and the PML-N members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence, which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to decide the fate of this ordinance.

Sources told The News that a fundamental difference existed between the two sides on the key issue i.e. should the Army have the right to engage in real estate business of making housing societies etc and should the elected members give a legal cover to such commercial endeavours of the military through an act of parliament.

A source said the PPP members were said to be backing this proposed bill to give sweeping powers to the top management of the DHA so as to please the top military command. But the PML-N MNAs were strongly opposed to this idea to give legal right to the Army to further expand its “real estate” business by getting a legal status through an act of parliament. Sources said the PML-N MPs were of the view that it made no sense to allow sweeping powers to any military-run real estate management authority without making its top management answerable to the civilian leadership and institutions.