Suri’s interview: Everyone is answerable to parliament

ISLAMABAD: Acting Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri on Thursday said everyone is answerable before the parliament.

“The parliament is the supreme institution and its supremacy could not be affected with the statement of the ministers as they come in the parliament with the vote of the people and they may have their own personal opinion,” he said in a panel interview with the Jang Group here on Thursday.

Qasim Khan Suri said that the process of the formation of the standing committees would be started from upcoming session on January 11. He termed the decision of appointment of the opposition leader as the Chairman Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Prime Minister as a ‘bold decision’.

“The decision of the election for chairman PAC with a consensus is a positive step,” he said. The acting speaker said rules will soon be amended to start the “Prime Minister Question-Hour” in which the prime minister will reply to questions of parliamentarians.

Qasim Khan Suri said the continuation of democracy will strengthen the democratic institutions in the country and when Prime Minister Imran Khan will respond to questions in the parliament for which the question hour of prime minister was being started, then the parliament’s respect would further rise.

‘The Constitution of Pakistan has made the prime minister and his cabinet answerable before the parliament,” he said. In a reply to a question with regard to possibility of in-house change, he was of the view that it was the opposition’s democratic right to think of in-house change. “We have supported Sadiq Sanjrani in the elections for the Senate Chairman and if the opposition wanted to bring a motion against the chairman Senate, then it was a democratic right of the opposition,” he said. The acting Speaker National Assembly ruled out threats to the government and said the coalition partners stood firm with the PTI.

Qasim Khan Suri said there was no need to worry with the aggressive statements of ministers as it was a beauty of democracy that everyone had a freedom of expression but it all should be in the constitutional limits.

He said the people were watching those who were submitting requisition for personal agenda and who were working for the betterment of them. In a reply to another question, he said Prime Minister Imran Khan was serious to resolve the issue of missing persons as it was a serious issue that needs to be resolved. “We are working with Sardar Akhtar Mengal to resolve the issue of missing persons in Balochistan as the resolution of the issue of missing persons is a part of the PTI’s manifesto,” he said.

Qasim Khan Suri said the PTI government was also to bring all the annoyed Baloch in the national arena by initiating a dialogue with them. He said the corruption and unemployment were major issues in Balochistan. The Acting Speaker National Assembly said the People of Balochistan along with the security forces had given sacrifices for peace in the province and now Pakistan’s flag was being waved in whole Balochistan. He said Balochistan received funds after the 18th Amendment but these were never spent on the people of Balochistan.

He said in the last 70 years, the loans of over Rs30,000 billion were taken and Rs24,000 billion in the last 10-years but no one knows where it were spent. “Corruption is the major issue and the accountability of corrupt elements should be continued,” he said.

He said it was the parliament’s prerogative either to amend the NAB laws or not and if the government and opposition create a consensus, then better legislation could be done. Qasim Khan Suri said corruption is a mega issue and there should be no leniency with the corrupt. “It was parliament's function to make laws more viable as with the change of time, there was also a need to amend the law with new requirements,” he said.

He said the parliament only runs through giving respect and tolerating each other as all are elected by the people of Pakistan. The Acting Speaker said the country was facing many serious issues and the people were also facing problems and it was the joint responsibility of the government and opposition to give attention to the problems faced by the people.

Qasim Khan Suri said being an Acting Speaker National Assembly, it was his responsibility to run smoothly the proceedings of the National Assembly with neutrality. “Even now the parliamentary proceedings were being telecast live on TV while social media has reduced the distance among the people and people were watching who was working for their betterment and who were advancing their personal agenda,” he said.

He said this is the country where there was a need of one million houses, 50 million people were unemployed, 25 million children were not going to schools and no clean drinking water was available even in bigger cities.

He said Rs500 billion of funds were transferred to Balochistan but when asked where these funds were spent, then no one gives answer and that was a reason people wanted resolution of their issues. To a question, he said the recent general elections of 2018 were a revolution which the PTI brought into the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The Acting Speaker demanded starting the western route under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor and provision of skilled training to youth of Balochistan for better employment. “If the employment opportunity is provided to the youth of Balochistan, it could also remove the sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan and they can come at par with the other provinces which is also the agenda of the PTI government,” he said.