Ruckus in PA over resolution against Altaf’s statement

Karachi
The provincial assembly proceedings on Monday were marred by uproar, protests and boycott by the lawmakers of three opposition political parties who were not allowed to present their resolution to condemn the statement of Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief against the army and the integrity of Sindh
The resolution was moved jointly by the lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
MQM chief Altaf Hussain had made the remarks in his telephonic speech from London on the night of April 30 after the controversial press conference of SSP Malir Rao Anwaar, in which the police official had levelled serious allegations against the party.
The lawmakers of the three opposition parties pleaded several times with speaker Agha Siraj Khan Durrani to take up their resolution since the outset of the sitting.
They were led by PML –F MPA Muhammad Shaharyar Khan, who had resigned as the leader of the opposition on April 29, and the parliamentary leaders of the other two parties. On Monday, MQM MPA Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan formally took over as the leader of the opposition in assembly.
The three political parties were trying to follow in the footsteps of the Balochistan Assembly which had passed a similar resolution. Later in the evening, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly also passed a resolution against the MQM chief. A resolution condemning the MQM chief’s statement has been submitted in the Punjab Assembly too.
The speaker said as he had called for the commencement of the question hour of the day’s sitting as per the regular agenda for the day, he could not allow the moving of any other item on an out-of-turn basis.
The speaker repeatedly advised opposition lawmakers to first let him go through regular agenda.
As the opposition lawmakers were taking up the matter, only PML-F MPA Nusrat Seher Abbasi’s microphone was switched on as the first three queries in the question hour were related to the health department and she was supposed to raise them.
The opposition lawmakers urged the speaker to put aside the regular agenda for time being to allow them to table the resolution keeping in view the urgency and sensitivity of the matter.
When the speaker seemed unmoved by the passionate appeals of opposition lawmakers, Abbasi requested him to give a ruling that the opposition’s joint resolution would be taken up after the conclusion of the question hour. However, the speaker refused to make this commitment.
As the speaker decided to go ahead with the question hour, the lawmakers of the three parties went to his rostrum to register their protest and started chanting slogans there.
The speaker said he would continue running the House as per the rules of procedures and the opposition lawmakers were unnecessarily protesting.
He added that the opposition lawmakers had no regard for the rules of the assembly as on an earlier occasion they had torn apart booklets of the assembly’s rules of procedure.
At one stage, the speaker jokingly remarked that by protesting, the opposition legislators were providing a good opportunity for a group photo, given that the combined strength of the MPAs of the three parties in the house came at 22.
Later, the lawmakers of the three parties stormed out of the house and continued boycotting the proceedings till they ended.
During all this time, the lawmakers of the Pakistan People’s Party and the MQM on the on the treasury and opposition benches, respectively, seemed indifferent to the agitation
The draft of the resolution the three parties wanted to move read: “We would like to condemn the remarks passed by Mr Altaf Hussain, the leader of the MQM, which are nothing but a call for instigation of violence and terror among the masses. Negative propaganda being created against our national institutions especially the Pakistan Army is strongly rejected.
“The demand for new province by dividing the province of Sindh coming from an individual who has been away from Pakistan since more than a decade and is a dual national is also rejected as nothing but a call for national disintegration. We request for strong legal action by the provincial as well as the federal government.”
Talking to reporters, Mahar said the opposition lawmakers had submitted their resolution in the assembly on the important issue of the integrity of Sindh and the dignity of the armed forces, but it was ignored, forcing them to register their protest.
“It is now up to the assembly to take up the resolution or not,” he added.
Mahar said the PPP government in the province had been exposed by not allowing the tabling of the resolution. “It seems that the PPP and the MQM, despite being on the treasury and opposition benches, respectively, are together on the matters of governance and it is difficult to differentiate as to which party is in the opposition and which one is on the treasury side.”
Samar Ali Khan of the PTI said that the speaker had been running the House in negation of rules as the real representatives of the masses people were not allowed to raise their voice. “Altaf Hussain’s statement is uncalled for and a treason case can be lodged against him,” he added.
The PTI legislator also said the division of Sindh would never be allowed.
Liaquat Ali Khan Jatoi, former chief minister and now an opposition lawmaker, said the PPP legislators, who were elected from the rural parts of the province, should have protested against the statement of the MQM chief but they did not do so because of their anti-Sindh policies.
Later towards the end of the proceedings, information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, in his statement under rule No 261 of provincial assembly, said the MQM leader’s statement made some days ago was uncalled for and unacceptable for everyone. He added that the statement was against the army and residents of the country’s provinces.
“The statement came at a time when the armed forces and the law-enforcement agencies are engaged in operations against terrorists.”
Memon said it was a welcoming sign that the MQM’s leadership had later issued a clarification on the controversial statement and also offered an unconditional apology. He said the clarification and apology had been accepted by different political parties as well as the prime minister.
The minister said political leaderships should be careful in their choice of words as their statements should not undermine the dignity and honour of any institution or community.
He added that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority should keep a check on the broadcasting or re-broadcasting of such controversial statements on TV channels.