PML-N, ANP senators spar over death of Gujranwala sanitary worker at Senate committee meeting

ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights turned acrimonious on Wednesday as PML-N Senator Abid Sher Ali and Awami National Party (ANP) chief Senator Aimal Wali Khan clashed over the questioning of Suthra Punjab officials in connection with the death of a Gujranwala waste management worker.

Chaired by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, the committee was reviewing the death of an employee of the Gujranwala Waste Management Company (GWMC), who allegedly died by suicide after receiving only half of his salary and facing termination of his contract.

Tensions rose when Senator Khan pressed officials with tough questions. Senator Ali interrupted, objecting to the tone. “Listen to them — you are conducting an inquiry and asking questions as if you are sitting in a police station,” he said.

When another member suggested that the cameras be switched off, Ali said he had “nothing wrong to say”.

“Speak properly,” he told Khan.

“I am speaking properly — you speak properly too,” Khan responded. Senators then intervened to defuse the situation.

Officials told the committee that the worker had been employed by GWMC from 2024 to 2025 and that his contract had expired on May 31, 2026. The alleged suicide, they said, occurred after his employment had ended.

Senator Musarrat Hussain asked whether the worker’s audio or video had been recorded before his death and posed a direct question to officials: “Did you kill him?”

Khan alleged the worker had been paid only half of his salary and said the circumstances had driven him to the extreme.

The GWMC chief executive officer (CEO) Abdul Razaque Ali Dogar disputed this, saying bank records showed full salary payments and that the worker had performance issues.

Committee members also questioned the hiring model. Senator Quratulain Marri asked why Suthra Punjab was engaging a third party for cleaning staff instead of recruiting workers directly.

She further pointed out that the Suthra Punjab Act came into force in 2026, while the incident took place in 2025. “How was recruitment done before the institution formally existed?” she asked. Khan echoed the concern.

The GWMC CEO said compensation had been provided to the worker’s widow and children, including a plot purchased with the help of a chamber of commerce. He did not specify which chamber had helped with the purchase.

Khan questioned why a plot had been given if the worker was not in service at the time of his death, saying, “If you give me a plot too, I will also be happy.”

The ANP chief further rejected officials’ suggestion that the worker may have had personal problems.

The committee directed Suthra Punjab to submit copies of the relevant laws for 2025 and 2026 and asked whether any redressal mechanism existed beyond financial compensation.

On July 1, a Suthra Punjab worker set himself on fire in Gujranwala in protest against non-payment of his full salary. He succumbed to his injuries two days later.

A CCTV camera recorded footage of the employee when he was coming out of the office where he had gone to complain against the contractor, later showing him dowsing himself in petrol in the corridor in the presence of some staff members.

Some other employees present there rushed to save their colleague and threw water on him, the CCTV footage showed.

An official said the contractor had been illegally deducting a major chunk of the workers’ Rs21,000 monthly salary.

On July 17, the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights expressed concern over the worker’s alleged suicide. It sought complete records, including contracts, salary registers, tax documents and banking transactions, to examine possible violations. It also directed authorities to provide details of compensation and insurance for the deceased worker’s family.