Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani talked about contributions of his family to politics and Constitution
ISLAMABAD: JUIF parliamentarian Muhammad Zahid Akram Durrani took oath as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) on Thursday.
Zahid Durrani was elected the NA Deputy Speaker unopposed and Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf administered him oath. Speaking on a point of order, PMLN parliamentarian Dr Nisar Ahmad Cheema said that former prime minister Imran Khan was not only incompetent but also lacked sportsman spirit. “After losing power, Imran Khan is now instigating his workers to physically and verbally attack opponents and take the country to a civil war-like situation,” he said. He said unnecessary narrative of American interference was being promoted in the country. The US pressurised Pakistan thrice in history, he added.
He said first Pakistan was threatened when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was asked to be away from nuclear programme, second time America forced Pakistan in 1998 urging then prime minister Nawaz Sharif not to conduct nuclear tests in response to Indian atomic explosions and the third threat came after the 9/11 incident.
Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani, who is the son of ex-chief minister of Khyber Pakhtuhkhwa and former federal minister Muhammad Akram Khan Durrani, talked about contributions of his family to politics and Constitution. He said that unlike his predecessor, he would work for dignity of the House and supremacy of the Constitution.
Zahid Durrani, who also chaired the proceedings of the House on Thursday, expunged unparliamentary remarks used by the PMLN member Malik Asad Khokar against PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The PMLN member, whose allegedly encroached property was demolished by the last Punjab government, quoted the example of an animal while criticising the former prime minister.
The speeches of all the PMLN members revolved around praises for their party leaders and they unleashed personal attacks on the former prime minister. Minister for Communications Asad Mahmood, coming harsh on the former prime minister Imran Khan, said that he never had any competency to run the affairs of the country even if he was given power for another 100 years without any opposition in the National Assembly. He also expressed the resolve to bring pro-people policies to provide relief to the masses.
Asad Mahmood said the government would have to lessen people’s sufferings like inflation and shortage of electricity. He noted that the government took the right step while getting a resolution passed for constitution of a committee for electoral reforms. The minister also stressed the need for focusing on electoral reforms at the earliest to ensure transparent and credible elections in the country.
Taking the floor, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Akbar Chitrali said utility bills of mosques and seminaries should be exempted from taxes. He also called for declaring Friday as a weekly off-day instead of Sunday and introducing proportionate representation in the country and following Islamic injunctions in letter and spirit. "We have been seeing change of faces but there is no change of system in the country,” he said.
Ahmed Hussain Deharr criticised policies of the previous government and urged the youth to be aware of the traps of the past rulers. He said moral values and traditions were disrespected during the past regime. Mir Munawwar Ali Talpur drew attention of the House towards shortage of water in Sindh and urged the government to pay attention to this issue.
Those who spoke on floor of the House included Raja Riaz, Ramesh Kumar, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Dr Shazia, Sobia Aslam Soomro, Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, Maulana Muhammad Anwar and Aliya Kamran.
Meanwhile, the parliamentarians congratulated Zahid Akram Durrani on being elected unopposed as NA Deputy Speaker. They expressed the confidence that Zahid Durrani would ensure rule of law, supremacy of the Constitution and Parliament.
Ghous Baksh Mehr of Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) while felicitating the Deputy Speaker hoped that he would follow the Constitution and work for supremacy of the Constitution and Parliament.
Shahida Rehmani of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) while congratulating the newly-elected Deputy Speaker said her party always struggled for the supremacy of Parliament and the Constitution. The coalition parties have overthrown the fascist government of Imran Khan, she said. She said the people had pinned hopes on this government for addressing their issues.
The government has to address grave issues including myopic economy, energy crisis, etc. Rana Muhammad Ishaq of PMLN said the past PTI government borrowed record loans during last the four years but did not launch any mega project in the country.
Maulana Asad Mehmood of MMAP, while congratulating the Deputy Speaker, said the past government mortgaged our sovereignty to International Monetary Fund. Now, there is a dire need to carry out proper legislation and address the masses’ problems, he added. He expressed the confidence that the coalition government would work together and put the country on consistent path of progress and prosperity.
Raja Riaz of PTI, while felicitating Zahid Akram Durrani, Deputy Speaker, expressed the hope that the chair would take along all the parliamentarians and give equal weightage to them. He demanded action against those who had violated or abrogated the Constitution.
Ahmad Hassan of PTI appreciated the apex court and other national institutions for ensuring supremacy of the law and Constitution and supporting democracy. He advised the public not to follow PTI Chairman Imran Khan as he was misleading the people through a false narrative.
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi felicitated both Speakers and Deputy Speakers on their election as custodians of the House. He said the parliamentary norms were badly smashed and crushed during the last four years. He expressed the hope that the new custodians of the House would uphold the sanctity of this august House and ensure supremacy of Parliament. He said in the past, the Business Advisory Committee of the House was made redundant by the former Speaker. He went on to say that meetings of various standing committees were held on personal liking and disliking. Standing Committee on Communication met only for six times during the last three and a half years, he added.
Abbasi said that false information was provided to this House during the said period and despite his repeated requests, no action was taken. He called for making committee of the House and library functional.
Later, Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani thanked the lawmakers, JUIF Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other allied political parties for extending support in his election as Deputy Speaker. He vowed to restore sanctity of the Chair and run the House affairs without any discrimination and in line with the Constitution. He regretted that the former Speaker and Deputy Speaker had violated the Constitution especially during the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan.