ByMuhammad Saleh Zaafir
ISLAMABAD: The Members of Parliament of both the houses have been counseled by the secretariat to get tested for coronavirus immediately as the Parliament House has been sealed for disinfection of the whole compound after just concluded sittings of the houses.
Well-placed parliamentary sources told The News here Saturday that arrangements for social distancing and preventive measures to keep the members and personnel of the Parliament House have worked well and none of the persons present during the sessions got infected in the course of conduct of business of the two houses.
The session with physical presence of the members despite intensity of the pandemic went according to the agreed schedule and none of the members of Parliament had any problem in the whole process since the arrangements were made with the consultations of all parliamentary groups.
Three young media persons were tested positive for coronavirus and they have been consigned to quarantine who are recovering at satisfactory pace. Interestingly some group leaders didn’t turn up for the session without assigning any reason.
Leader of House/Prime Minister Imran Khan, Leader of Opposition Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Balochistan National Party (BNP) chief Sardar Muhammad Akhtar Mengal, JUI Parliamentary group leader Maulana Asad Mahmood, PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar, Pakhtoon Tribal leader Ali Wazir, MQM-Pakistan leader Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, PPP leader Aftab Shaaban Mirani, JWP leader Nawabzada Zain Bugti, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad of AML and majority of the federal ministers and state ministers including Pervez Khattak and Fawad Chaudhry were conspicuous with their absence.
A tribal member Munir Ahmad Khan Orakzai who had coronavirus positive earlier did attend the session of National Assembly, but he fainted due to lowering of glucose in his blood and got flat on the floor of the house. He was removed to the hospital but found stable and no sign were found of coronavirus in him.
Former leader of the opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah who is in NAB custody and wasn’t brought in the National Assembly.
Interestingly female members of the two houses attended the session comparatively in large number and again like male opposition members, opposition ladies outnumbered the government female members. Former foreign minister Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar who is known for her input on important issues opted to stay away from the session.
In the meanwhile speaker Asad Qaisar has started work after recovering from coronavirus attack and he has discussed with his secretariat letter from the Parliamentary Leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Khawaja Muhammad Asif expressing his apprehensions about failure of the House in completing mandatory 130 days session before August 13, when the calendar year of the House will be culminated. He will respond to the Khawaja and likely to inform him that the National Assembly would fulfil its constitutional obligations by having session for the mandatory day’s sittings.
