• PTI, PPP slam absence of ministers during Question Hour
• Lawmaker claims ‘important bill’ to be tabled this week
• MNAs criticise decision to ‘drag’ sessions, say they should be allowed to return to their constituencies

ISLAMABAD: It was another wasteful day in the National Assembly on Monday, as the treasury and the opposition benches continued their blame-game and censured each other for adopting ‘undemocratic tactics’ to victimise their opponents, bulldozing legislation and damaging democratic norms in the country.

At the outset of the sitting, held after a two-day recess, the government faced an embarrassing situation when the treasury and the opposition members protested over the absence of the ministers during Question Hour, which forced Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to suspend proceedings for 45 minutes.

Lodging their protest, lawmakers of the PPP, a key partner in the ruling coalition, questioned the PML-N government’s act of dragging the assembly session, stating that they had not been able to visit their constituencies for long.

“What will we do in Islamabad for two days?” asked PPP’s Agha Rafiullah, stating that he had the reports that the government planned to adjourn the sitting on Tuesday for another two days.

“Please have pity on us,” said the PPP MNA, suggesting that the session should either be run on a daily basis, or they should be provided an opportunity to visit their constituencies.

He said the absence of ministers was a permanent issue, no matter who was in government.

Another PPP MNA from Karachi, Nabil Gabol, said he had come to know that the government wanted to bring a “main and important bill” on Friday. “Let us go home. What will we do here for four days? I request you to adjourn the sitting until Friday and we will come back,” he said.

Aliya Kamran of the JUI-F asked the chair to give a strict ruling to ensure the presence of the ministers in the house.

The speaker was told that ministers had been directed by Senate chairman to be present in the upper house of parliament, where the visiting Speaker from the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation was scheduled to deliver a speech.

However, when proceedings resumed, Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah gave the floor to Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan and PTI’s Asad Qaiser, to deliver speeches on points of order during Question Hour.

Taking the floor, Mr Qaiser launched a scathing attack on the ruling coalition for pushing through the highly contentious 26th Constitutional Amendment bill and alleged that the government used “brutal force” to get support of the opposition members for the bill. Declaring that the amendment was passed in an “immoral and illegal manner”, he said there was a “sham democracy” in the country.

Mr Qaiser, who had served as the NA speaker during the previous PTI government, castigated the government for “manipulating” voting on the constitutional amendment bill by “purchasing the loyalties” of five opposition members.

‘Turncoats’ slammed

Calling them turncoats, Mr Qaiser showed election posters of each dissident MNA carrying the pictures of PTI’s founding chairman Imran Khan and constantly kept on calling them turncoats amid slogans of “shame, shame” from the opposition benches.

He showed the posters of MNAs Chaudhry Muhammad Ilyas, Zahoor Hussain Qureshi, Aurangzeb Khichi, Chaudhry Usman Ali and Mubarak Zeb and criticised them for ditching the party and voting in support of the bill. He also castigated the two BNP-M senators who voted in support of the government bill.

He alleged that PM Shehbaz Sharif had ‘purchased’ these votes and left a black stain on the face of democracy.

He said the government had got the votes on “gunpoint”, stating that they felt ashamed for being “parliamentarians”.

Moreover, he said, the government had got the bill passed through an ‘incomplete’ Senate and National Assembly.

Mr Qaiser said he was particularly surprised to see the PPP’s role in the whole episode, stating that the party used to call itself a champion of democracy and had a history of struggle for the cause of democracy.

He said the houses of the people were demolished, people were abducted and even the women were not spared.

As soon as Mr Qaiser took his seat, the deputy speaker gave floor to PPP’s Abdul Qadir Patel to respond.

In his speech, the PPP MNA from Karachi lashed out at Imran Khan for what he termed “introducing the politics of violence and vengeance” in the country. He asked Mr Qaiser to admit the mistakes of the previous PTI government before criticising the coalition government.

He reminded him how opposition members were victimised during the PTI regime.

He said the NA had bulldozed some 52 pieces of legislation when Mr Qaiser was the speaker and recalled how the PTI had managed to get the votes of PPP and the PML-N members for then-Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, which had been termed “votes of conscience” at the time.

The PTI made a failed attempt to disrupt Mr Patel’s speech when Sher Afzal Marwat pointed out a lack of quorum. The chair, however, declared the house in order after a count and gave the floor back to the PPP lawmaker to complete his speech.

The NA will meet again on Tuesday (today) at 11am.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2024