Opposition protest inside and outside NA over leaders’ arrest

ISLAMABAD: The opposition members wearing black ribbons around their shoulders in the National Assembly on Thursday registered strong protest inside and outside the assembly against the arrest of the PPP leader Syed Khursheed Shah by the NAB as the House fell short of executing order of the day.

Parliamentarians from the opposition benches gathered in front of the speaker’s chair demanding him to give floor to Ahsan Iqbal who wanted to respond to allegations levelled by Minister for Communications Murad Saeed, disallowing the House to take up agenda of the day.

The deputy speaker told the opposition that he had already allowed five opposition members to speak on points of order. “Let me complete the agenda of the House which is basic responsibility of the chair,” he said. Prior to start of Thursday’s proceedings, the opposition members from the PML-N and PPP staged a

protest camp outside the Parliament House while carrying portraits of their detained colleagues including Asif Ali Zardari, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Rana Sanaullah, Syed Khursheed Shah and Khawaja Saad Rafique.

At the outset of the proceedings, Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri told the House that the National Assembly speaker had been informed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that Khursheed Shah had been arrested on corruption charges in compliance of arrest warrants on September 18.

Former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf while reminding the chair that it was responsibility of the speaker as custodian of the House to safeguard rights and privileges of the parliamentarians. He said the way Khursheed Shah, who is mong most senior members of House, being elected parliamentarian eight times, was arrested was aimed at nothing but his humiliation. “The NAB officials could have sent him questionnaire before taking the extreme step,” he said.

The PPP lawmaker demanded the chair to summon the NAB officials in his office and ask them to furnish details of charges against the detained member. “The detained member should also be given an opportunity to respond to corruption charges against him,” he said.

Pervaiz Ashraf said Speaker Asad Qaiser, who was present at the Kashmir Conference on Wednesday, was not aware of arrest of Khursheed Shah by the NAB team from his residence in Islamabad. “The speaker should be apprised of arrest of the senior parliamentarian before his arrest,” he said, questioning if the Parliament has become so weak that its members can be arrested anytime.

Expressing disappointment over the attitude of the chair, the former prime minister said the speaker was acting as silent spectator, while the NAB would continue to arrest members from the opposition. “They will arrest us all one by one and only members from the treasury benches will be left,” he said.

Khawaja Asif of the PML-N said perhaps it is community of politicians which has been trying to take lead to undermine each other, whereas other communities like bureaucrats protect each other’s rights. He said it was responsibility of the speaker to protect rights and privileges of members, asking the chair not to take shelter behind rules for not issuing production orders of the arrested members. “You will also protect your rights as parliamentarian when you will be the opposition,” he said.

The PML-N member said it amounted to compromise on supremacy and sovereignty of the Parliament by becoming tool in hands of any institution to humiliate parliamentarians. He said the opposition members were forced to stage protest outside the Parliament House because the attitude of the speaker had disappointed them.

Khawaja Asif said the speaker is custodian of the House and he should perform his duties and act for protection of rights of parliamentarians while living above from his political affiliations. He said the speaker had taken oath under the Constitution to act as neutral.

Murad Saeed of the PTI said the opposition members attended the National Assembly proceedings on Thursday while wearing black ribbons to protect corruption of their colleagues instead of expressing solidarity with Kashmiris. The minister reminded the opposition that the NAB chairman was appointed by the previous government with the consultation of the PPP. He said that it was also the PML-N and PPP who earlier used to accuse each other of corruption.

The minister said that instead of making hue and cry on the arrest of their leaders, the opposition parties should raise voice for the rights of Kashmiri people. “We should give the message that the entire Pakistan and Parliament stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their Kashmiri brethren,” he said.

Murad Saeed said that it is first time that Hindutva face of India has been unmasked by Pakistan at the international level. He said the world today is supporting Pakistan's stance on Kashmir dispute.

Expressing concern over the situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir, the minister said that there was shortage of medicines, food and other essential commodities and the Kashmiri people are looking towards Pakistan.

Talking about arrest of Khursheed Shah, the minister said it were the PML-N leaders who used to call him ‘meter reader’ while it was also Shahbaz Sharif who threatened that he would drag Asif Zardari on roads of Multan and Lahore. “It were PML-N and PPP leaders who used to level corruption charges on floor of the National Assembly, but now they have joined hands,” he said.

The minister while regretting speeches of the opposition members at protest camp outside the Parliament House questioned whom they wanted to send their message at a time when the prime minister is leaving for the United States to address United Nations General Assembly mainly on Kashmir issue.

The JUI-F member Asad Mehmood said he was not surprised over arrest of Khursheed Shah particularly when it is a fact that an elected prime minister like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was arrested and former president and former prime ministers had already been nabbed. He said it was regrettable that parliamentarians are being arrested, but the chair is not fulfilling his responsibilities. He said it gives an impression that NAB is a supreme institution to the Parliament.

The JUI-F member claimed that after toppling the incumbent government, the opposition parties would become voice of Kashmiri people and would give a befitting response to the Indian leadership. The deputy speaker prorogued the session after a PML-N member pointed out lack of quorum in the House as the proceedings resumed after break for Zuhr prayer.