• Deputy speaker terms it ‘disgrace’ to parliament, says no NA proceedings till ministers’ presence; vows to write to PM
• Senate chairman defers a number of agenda items
• Ministers spend busy time outside parliament
ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers in both the houses of parliament on Thursday expressed outrage over the continued absence of the ministers as Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah termed it a “disgrace” to the parliament and declared that they would not hold National Assembly proceedings, if the ministers would not be present in the house.
“If the ministers will not come next week, we will not run the house. If this is what they want, this is what we will do …. this is disgrace to the house,” declared the deputy speaker after a number of MNAs from the opposition and the treasury expressed their resentment over the absence of the ministers during the question hour for the second consecutive day.
Mr Shah also announced that they would write a letter to the prime minister to apprise him about the situation.
A similar scenario unfolded in the Senate where Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani had to defer several agenda items due to the ministers’ absence.
At the outset of the NA sitting, PTI MNA Asad Qaiser drew the attention of the chair towards the empty treasury benches, saying this showed seriousness of the government. Terming it “condemnable”, he asked the chair to “suspend the proceedings in protest”. The deputy speaker then announced a 15-minute break. However, when the members assembled again, there was no change in the situation.
Veteran PPP MNA Naveed Qamar said it was the constitutional duty of the ministers to be present in this house. He said despite the fact that they had raised the same issue on Wednesday, the situation had not changed.
“How do they [the ministers] expect that the opposition or anybody will respect parliament when the major beneficiaries of parliament decide not to respect parliament?’ asked Mr Qamar.
“This is ridiculous. We keep on raising isues and yet they keep on abstaining themselves,” said the PPP MNA, asking the chair to give a “strict ruling”.
“Until the ministers are not present here, the house should not proceed,” he said amid desk thumping by the members. Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan also protested over the minister’ absence and termed it an “insult” to the house.
The deputy speaker adjourned the house till Friday (today) without taking up any agenda item.
Senate session
In the Senate, the chairman deferred the calling attention notices and a number of questions due to the ministers’ absence following protest by the senators.
JUI-F’s Kamran Murtaza asked the chairman to suspend the absent ministers, whereas PPP’s Sherry Rehman asked the chair to issue a warning to the ministers.
When the chairman sought a response from PML-N’s parliamentary leader Irfan Siddiqui, he expressed his helplessness and termed the situation “regretful” and made no commitments leaving the matter to be decided by the chairman. Mr Gilani deplored the situation and termed it against the parliamentary norms.
Where were the ministers?
Unmoved over the criticism on them, the ministers spent a busy day in various activities outside parliament throughout the day which was evident from the press releases issued by the media managers of their respective ministries to the newspapers and TV channels, requesting them to give prominent coverage.
Except for Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who had left for Turkiye on a visit, a majority of the ministers were present in the federal capital.
A brief synopsis of the activities of some of the ministers showed that Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal attended at least two different events, besides receiving a delegation of the Local Council Association, Mardan.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was seen visiting the residence of PTI-Parliamentarians chief Pervez Khattak, whereas Commerce Minister Jam Kamal presided over the board meeting of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb virtually attended the inaugural session of the International Islamic Capital Markets Conference, while Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer first chaired a meeting of the Central Cotton Committee’s Governing Body and then attended the Kenyan National Day event.
Similarly, Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui gave preference to a scholarship celebration ceremony, while IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja found time to receive and host the ambassador of Kazakhstan.
Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024
