Opposition raises slogans, stages walkout, tears budget copies

ISLAMABAD: Members of the opposition parties during the budget speech of the finance minister staged a walkout from the National Assembly proceedings after registering a strong protest against the use of police force against protesting farmers at the D Chowk on Friday.

The opposition members tore copies of the budget speech while raising slogans of ‘No, No’ and ‘liar, liar’ and one of parliamentarians continued to blow a whistle. Some of the members occupied stairs in front of Speaker’s dais for a few minutes.

Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, however, in the presence of the Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif continued his speech without paying any heed to the protest.

The MQM parliamentarians silently left the National Assembly hall but returned after a brief walkout.

At the outset of the proceedings on Friday afternoon, Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed Shah wanted to speak on the issue of use of police force against farmers who were staging a protest at the D-Chowk. However, the Speaker, Sardar Ayaz, told Khursheed Shah that there was no such tradition of speaking on point of order while presentation of the budget was going on.

The finance minister suggested that as a special case, the opposition leader should be given the floor. Syed Khursheed Shah strongly condemned the police baton charge on farmers saying protesters were staging a protest outside the Red Zone. “The farmers are the backbone of a country’s economy and they have come to present their demands not to receive tear gas and baton-charge,” he said adding the rulers have left no difference between a democratic government and dictatorship.