ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi and treasury members of the Senate standing committee concerned on Monday staged a walkout from proceedings over rejection of three government bills when the committee’s chairperson belonging to the opposition cast her own vote against the government bills after a tie.

Before walking out of the committee’s meeting, the angry minister had a heated exchange of arguments with opposition senators who later criticised him over his “unparliamentary behaviour” and use of inappropriate remarks.

The bills rejected by the Senate Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs, headed by Rubina Khalid of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), were the Port Qasim Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021; and the Gwadar Port Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021. These three bills were among those 21 bills which the government had bulldozed through the National Assembly on June 10 in the absence of the opposition members.

Chair’s vote leads to rejection of bills at Senate body meeting

During the discussion on the bills, similar in nature, the opposition members forcefully opposed legislations, terming them “unconstitutional” as well as in violation of the Supreme Court’s judgement.

The government had introduced these bills in order to bring the Port Qasim Authority, the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation and the Gwadar Port Authority under the domain of the prime minister or the minister concerned, instead of the federal cabinet.

The minister and the officials of his ministry while defending the proposed laws, asked the opposition members to submit their objections in writing.

Some of the treasury members requested the chair to defer the vote to allow them time to once again go through the drafts in the light of the objections raised by opposition members.

The chairperson, however, put the bills for a vote upon insistence of the opposition members, saying that she could not allow deferment of the bills merely to allow the government to complete its numbers.

The vote ended in a tie as four treasury members supported the bills while four opposition members rejected them. At this point, the chairperson cast her own vote against the bills.

Thus, the committee rejected the bills with a majority vote.

“These bills had already been passed by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, the federal cabinet, the National Assembly’s committee and finally the National Assembly. Are all these donkeys who had passed these bills?” said the minister angrily, prompting a strong protest by the opposition members, who termed these remarks unparliamentary and uncalled for.

“What kind of language is being used?” objected Nuzhat Sadiq of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

“I am a donkey”, the red-faced minister was heard saying before leaving the committee room with four treasury members.

The committee meeting was attended by nine members, including the chairperson, out of a total of 13 members. The treasury members who attended the meeting were Fida Muhammad, Abdul Qadir and Dost Muhammad Khan of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Danesh Kumar of the Balochistan Awami Party.

The opposition members who voted against the bills were Nuzhat Sadiq of the PML-N, Moula Bux Chandio of the PPP, Muhammad Akram of the National Party (NP) and Naseema Ehsan (Independent).

Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi later issued a statement in which he vowed to present the bills before the Senate for a final vote despite their rejection by the committee.

“Regrettably politics won over human wisdom and national interest today,” said the minister in his statement while referring to the committee’s proceedings.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2021