Imran comes under fire in Senate

ISLAMABAD: The legislators on both sides of the aisle in the Senate came hard on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, without naming for his recent derogatory remarks against Parliament.

Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan asserted that Parliament is a supreme institution and accused the judiciary of disqualifying an elected prime minister Nawaz Sharif in connivance with the ‘third umpire or the establishment’. He expressed these remarks during a debate in the House on the remarks made by Imran in his speech at a rally organised by Pakistan Awami Tehreek recently in Lahore in connection with the Model Town killings. Mushahidullah castigated Imran and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for their anti-Parliament speeches.

The debate started from the points of public importance while Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani cautioned the senators and quoted his own ruling and each ruling of the former Senate chairmen Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Waseem Sajjad said that the statement or remarks made by the member of a house could not be taken up in the other house. Rabbani pointed out that this was also agreed upon in the House Business Advisory meeting. He said that the members could speak on the supremacy of Parliament.

PTI senators tried to defend their leader, as Senator Noman Wazir Khattak insisted that the word ‘curse’ used for Parliament was correct keeping in view the low level performance of the legislature.

However, in total contrast to it, Mushahidullah described that the word ‘curse’ for Parliament was tantamount to ‘treason against the state’. Referring to PTI sit-in in 2014, he said that they attacked PM House, PTV building and broke gates of Parliament. He claimed that both Imran and Sh Rashid crossed the red line and the House should, therefore, suggest action against the duo. He charged both had insulted hundreds of thousands of voters by passing such remarks.

The minister went on to say that Imran had, in fact, got disqualified himself from becoming a member of Parliament as he used derogatory remarks against the institution of Parliament while he would contest election for its membership. PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar rose to say that someone who was also beneficiary of Parliament should not abuse it. “This only encouraged the anti-Parliament forces to further undermine the elected Parliament,” he argued. He deplored and condemned the cursing of Parliament and parliamentarians by some lawmakers. “This only encouraged the anti-Parliament forces to further undermine the elected houses,” he said. PML-N Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq said that she was ashamed of herself hearing language used by the two against Parliament.

On the mysteriously disappeared Raza Mehmood Khan, who went missing from Lahore on December 2 last year, Senator Babar said that it was intriguing that most of the bloggers and activists, who went missing, were those who were advancing alternative theories of national security and disagreed with the official narratives.

He noted that the missing Raza was known for advocating peace in the region particularly peaceful co-existence with India. “This is against the state narrative of peace and security in the region,” he said.