Ugly scenes welcome PTI in parliament

ISLAMABAD: The return of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to parliament after a gap of seven months made waves in the joint sitting on Monday reflected in the hostile reception of some PML-N legislators who chanted slogans of “Go Imran Go” and “U-turn PTI.”
As the session started, PML-N backbenchers started raising slogans and two of its legislators, Daniyal Aziz and Omar Ayub Khan, wanted to speak on points of order. However, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq declined their requests.
Amid the PML-N slogans, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Khursheed Shah, got the floor and welcomed the PTI legislators by saying that he was happy about PTI’s return to parliament as it reflected the success of democracy.
He termed the PML-N lawmakers’ attitude regrettable and said that the government should control its members as per its policy. “It seems that the attitude of the treasury benches is against their own government,” he added.
He said it was the success of democracy and proved that parliament’s supremacy was accepted.The speech of the opposition leader was disturbed by the PML-N legislators who raised slogans. Khursheed lodged a complaint with the Speaker, saying that it was a parliamentary tradition that no one should speak when the leaders of the House or opposition were speaking in the House.
NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz and listen to opposition leader. “This is a very important debate which needs to be discussed,” says the speaker while urging representatives to settle down.But the PML-N continued slogans on which the Speaker said that the behaviour was unacceptable. “Have some respect for the leader of the opposition and I will have no choice but to adjourn the session,” the Speaker warned PML-N legislators.
As the PML-N stopped chanting slogans, Khursheed Shah continued his speech and said that he wanted to add that some PTI members had arrived earlier and if today PTI members were attending the session, it was a positive sign and credit went to the opposition.
He said that issues should be resolved only with dialogue as fire could only put out by water not by another fire. “The issues should only be resolved through dialogue,” he said.The opposition leader said he wanted to praise opposition parties which had for the past months tried to resolve issues and now PTI was in the House.
He said he also wanted to praise patience of the Speaker as he did not accept the resignations and today they had joined Parliament. “We welcome the PTI members and consider their return as a victory for democracy,” he said.
Replying to opposition leader, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that the rules were very clear and he did not accept their resignations as they were the Parliament members to him like the rest.
When Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif was given the floor to make a policy statement on Pakistan stance on Yemen crisis, Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed objected to the absence of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif from the session by asking where the prime minister was. “I want to ask Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to come and sit in Parliament and commence the debate on the Yemen issue.”
He said there was joint responsibility and since all of Parliament was present, it was important for the prime minister to be present here. “I understand he is busy, but he should have spared time for an hour to attend the joint session. I request the Speaker to adjourn the session for one and a half hours so that the prime minister may come to the debate and Parliament’s decision will have some weight.”
Shah proposed the session be postponed till 4 pm and would be commenced against on 8 pm so that the prime minister might attend the session. “I understand that we have good relations with Sri Lanka but I request that the session be adjourned till 4 pm.
Khawaja Asif responded to this by saying that the session should continue and that the prime minister’s meeting with Sri Lanka leader was a scheduled.
As the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) strongly protested the arrival of members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in joint sitting of Parliament, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif appeared aggressive against the PTI parliamentarians while uttering some harsh remarks against them.
The joint sitting of two houses was summoned to discuss situation in the Middle East but MQM, JUI-F leaders and even the defence minister’s outburst against PTI members marred the first day’s proceeding on Monday.
The defence minister, who was supposed to defend government’s policy on Middle East, turned his guns to the PTI members changing the atmosphere in the joint sitting. Moreover, all it happened in presence of the prime minister.
The JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, while refusing to accept PTI leaders as members of the National Assembly, said his members would walk out of the proceedings whenever a PTI took the floor.
Earlier, as the PTI and MQM members were exchanging hot words and raising slogans against each other, the defence minister said the PTI leaders continued using abuses from container and now they had again come to Parliament.
However, he was more critical of PTI members for turning up in the joint sitting saying as to how they had come to attend session of the house which they had already termed rigged assembly. “Do they have any shame, ethics and with which face they are attending the session,” he said.
He admitted that words of the Speaker about legality of PTI members were final and there should also be some morality and ethics among PTI parliamentarians.
Following criticism of the JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman that there was no moral or legal justification for arrival of PTI members in the house, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq ruled the PTI members were still members of the National Assembly so, they were attending the session.
He said that he did receive resignations of PTI parliamentarians but none of them came to him to verify the same. Moreover, the Speaker said none of the rest of members of the house moved any motion which was required to end membership of PTI members who had sent their resignations.
Agencies add: While talking to media outside Parliament, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that PTI members were ‘stranger’ in Parliament.
He elaborated that the PTI MNAs had tendered their resignations to the Speaker and now they were no more members of Parliament.Replying to a question, he said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoyed brotherly ties. “The relations of two brotherly countries are above politics,” he added.
The decision on the Yemen issue, he added, should be taken keeping in view the national interests.MQM leader Farooq Sattar and Khalid Maqbool, while talking to media persons outside Parliament, said that PTI lawmakers were no more members of Parliament according to the Constitution.
Khalid Maqbool said that they were ‘Namehram’ to Parliament as they resigned and it was like giving divorce on three counts and they needed to marry or re-election.Farooq Sattar said, “Today the PTI lawmakers returned to the House after a long time. It should be clear that these lawmakers had resigned seven months ago.”
He said that Clause 1 of Article 64 of the Constitution explained that any lawmaker who submitted his resignation was considered to have resigned immediately if that resignation was not taken back.
The Constitution, he added, also said if any member was absent from the House for more than 40 days, he or she deemed not to be a member of Parliament.
Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Zahid Khan criticised for returning to Parliament, which Imran Khan had described as bugs and corrupt.Zahid Khan said, “Imran Khan does not know what he’s doing”. Why Khan wasted everybody’s time,” he said while talking to media persons outside Parliament.
PTI’s representatives should deny the signatures on resignations otherwise their resignations should be considered as accepted, he added. “The nation doesn’t want politics based on falsehood,” he said. “This slogan of bringing change … why was all this drama created”, he questioned.