By By Our Correspondent
THE Punjab Assembly on Tuesday had a brief uproar over the remarks of MMA parliamentary leader Ali Haider Noor Niazi against Governor Salman Taseer.
Ali Haider Noor Niazi, MPA from Mianwali, tried to move a resolution regarding Tahafuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat, condemning the statements of Governor Salman Taseer and MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain over the blasphemy laws.
Despite refusal by Deputy Speaker Rana Mashood, who time and again asked Mr Niazi to follow the legal procedure necessary for tabling a motion, the MMA leader started reading the text of the resolution aloud, condemning the ‘liberals’ and demanding action against the leaders to prevent them from issuing statements for amendments to the blasphemy laws.
Rana Mashood asked Ali Haider Niazi to sit down, stating that there could not be any compromise over Namoos-e-Risalat and he must avoid making the matter a political issue and adopt the proper procedure for tabling the motion but Niazi continued his speech which invoked serious criticism from both the PML-N and the PPP.
Rana Sanaullah Khan said there could be no compromise over the issue of Namoos-e-Risalat but if one intended ‘point scoring’ over the issue, it was shameful.
Azma Bokhari of the PPP, on a point of order, also lambasted the MMA parliamentary leader and said he must take back his words against the governor back, saying she could give a much better answer to those who voted Pervez Musharraf over the 17th Amendment.
Shaukat Mehmood Basra, another PPP MPA, also criticised Ali Haider Niazi whose party had two seats in the House of 371.
Ali Haider Niazi, once again, started his speech stating that just a few months ago, the House had passed resolution against Governor Salman Taseer and we (MMA) supported that but now he was not being given the support. On this, he was told by an MPA that the resolution he was referring to was not against the governor but the imposition of the Governor’s Rule in the province.
Later, Mr Niazi staged a walkout of the House amid voices of ‘let him go out’ from the PPP side.