Objections force presiding officer to adjourn Senate session

ISLAMABAD: The opposition in the Senate Friday strongly protested over what they said chairing of the sitting by a presiding officer Palwasha Mohammad Zai in the presence of Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan Nasar, ultimately forcing her to adjourn the house till Monday.

It all started after Chairman Senate Yusuf Raza Gilani, chairing the opening sitting of the 339th session, left saying, “My son is taking oath in the National Assembly; therefore, I am leaving for a couple of minutes.” His exit brought in Palwasha of PPP to preside over the remaining sitting.

PTI’s Fawzia Arshad objected and pointed out that it was against the rules that a presiding officer was conducting the proceedings in the presence of deputy chairman. Amid protest and sloganeering, Leader of Opposition Shibli Faraz said there should be no fun making of the house.

He and the presiding officer exchanged some harsh words she continued in the chair for at least five times despite the opposition protest. Palwasha retorted that she could not be forced to adjourn the house through bullying, yelling and hooliganism.

Earlier, ex-chairman and PPP Senator Farooq H Naek contended that no rule violation had taken place and that the chairman had the right to make anyone the presiding officer.

In the meantime, Syedaal, who belongs to Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN), left the house, giving another opportunity to the protesting members to allege that he had been compelled to leave the house.

Senator Shibli Faraz said take out the recording and see for yourself that he [Syedaal] was in the house, when she took over as presiding officer. “You do not talk to me loudly, it is shameful that the PMLN sent its own deputy chairman out of the house,” he charged. Amid protest, some female lawmakers left their chairs.

The presiding officer again made it clear the house would not be run on hooliganism, bullying, rigging and remarked, “I am not going to move from here due to your misbehaviour”.

In the meantime, she gave floor to JUI-Fazl’s Maulan Attaur Rehman, who also supported the PTI viewpoint and warned to stage walkout if their objection was ignored. He contended that the chairman had announced a panel of presiding officers, including Palwasha, but it works only after the chairman and deputy chairman were not available.

Palwasha again said she never backed down on hooliganism before and would not move now, as the opposition members started shouting thieves, thieves and rigging. On finding no way to calm the members down, she adjourned the meeting till 5pm on Monday. Earlier, a motion was moved to suspend the question hour and Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri was given floor by the chairman to present a calling attention notice on the issue of statement by DG Immigration and Passports regarding proposed inclusion of ‘ex-husband category’ in the passport data for women, calling it against basic fundamental rights of women and discriminatory.

Speaking on behalf of the interior minister, Minister for Housing and Works Riaz Hussain Pirzada said the high court had issued an order and dropped the proposal: woman has been given the option to keep the father’s name.

Responding to another calling attention notice on the ‘inordinate delay in completion of Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway’, Pirzada called it a missing link and promised some results within six months regarding the project. He said the contractor had left owing to Covid . The chair referred the matter to the relevant standing committee of the House for deliberations and report.