NA echoes with slogans of ‘sugar thief, wheat thief'

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Opposition members in National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday raised strong protest when Minister of Communication Murad Saeed was allowed to make speech which was not part of agenda of private member day in National Assembly.

During protest they reached in front of dais of NA Speaker and started raising slogans ‘sugar thief’, ‘wheat thief’ when Murad Saeed started criticising Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif on not returning to Pakistan. As protest from the Opposition benches got momentum, Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri announced adjournment of proceedings till Wednesday morning.

During his speech, Murad Saeed asked the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif to better announce his arrival in the country otherwise the Pakistan government would make arrangements for his return.

The Opposition members strongly protested against the minister while hooting at him as he continued to criticise the PML-N leadership and the Sindh government. He also raised issue of murder of a journalist Aziz Memon in the Sindh province while pointing fingers at a family of the province.

“It will be better for Shahbaz Sharif to announce his return or ‘Royal Ride’ will be arranged for him,” the Minister for Communication while speaking on floor of the National Assembly said.

The Opposition members registering their protest also reached in front of Speaker’s dais as Murad Saeed time and again requested the chair to make House in order.

Calling Shahbaz Sharif as absconder, Murad Saeed said questions should be raised on absence of Sharif in the country. “Questions are raised when the Opposition Leader who himself is on bail, left the country as guarantor of somebody but now he is absconder,” he said. He said that questions should also be raised when the whole family and their ex-finance minister were absconder.

He said according to media reports on a television channel, similar questions were also raised over absence of Shahbaz Sharif during the PML-N parliamentary party meeting.

Responding to criticism on PTI government’s economic performance, he said the inflation now has reduced to 11.6% which had reached to 25% during the PML-N tenure.

Turning to the Sindh government, he said the provincial government had allocated crores of rupees in the name of preventing dog-biting, saying that as per statistics, around 92,000 such incidents occurred there.

He called upon the chair to constitute a commission to probe into murder of journalist Aziz Memon in the Sindh province. He pointed out that Shaheed Aziz Memon before his murder had said that he was receiving life threats from a family when he exposed use of money to gather people to participate in a train march. “How we will face media when we do not raise such questions,” he said.

Meanwhile, eight private members bills were also introduced in the House on Tuesday. The bills include The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2020), The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The National Database and Registration Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Prevention of Drugs Usage in Educational Institutions Bill, 2020, The Employment of the Unattended Youth Bill, 2020 and The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2020. Leader in the National Assembly Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif to better announce his arrival in the country otherwise the Pakistan government would make arrangements for his return.

The Opposition members strongly protested against the minister while hooting at him as he continued to criticise the PML-N leadership and the Sindh government. He also raised issue of murder of a journalist Aziz Memon in the Sindh province while pointing fingers at a family of the province.

“It will be better for Shahbaz Sharif to announce his return or ‘Royal Ride’ will be arranged for him,” the Minister for Communication while speaking on floor of the National Assembly said.

The Opposition members registering their protest also reached in front of Speaker’s dais as Murad Saeed time and again requested the chair to make House in order.

Calling Shahbaz Sharif as absconder, Murad Saeed said questions should be raised on absence of Sharif in the country. “Questions are raised when the Opposition Leader who himself is on bail, left the country as guarantor of somebody but now he is absconder,” he said. He said that questions should also be raised when the whole family and their ex-finance minister were absconder.

He said according to media reports on a television channel, similar questions were also raised over absence of Shahbaz Sharif during the PML-N parliamentary party meeting.

Responding to criticism on PTI government’s economic performance, he said the inflation now has reduced to 11.6% which had reached to 25% during the PML-N tenure.

Turning to the Sindh government, he said the provincial government had allocated crores of rupees in the name of preventing dog-biting, saying that as per statistics, around 92,000 such incidents occurred there.

He called upon the chair to constitute a commission to probe into murder of journalist Aziz Memon in the Sindh province. He pointed out that Shaheed Aziz Memon before his murder had said that he was receiving life threats from a family when he exposed use of money to gather people to participate in a train march. “How we will face media when we do not raise such questions,” he said.

Meanwhile, eight private members bills were also introduced in the House on Tuesday. The bills include The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2020), The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The National Database and Registration Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Prevention of Drugs Usage in Educational Institutions Bill, 2020, The Employment of the Unattended Youth Bill, 2020 and The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2020.