Opposition boycotts NA, lack of quorum prevails

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly faced lack of quorum for the third consecutive working day as the opposition parties announced boycott proceedings of the House on Friday.

The proceedings of lower house of the parliament were adjourned without taking up business of the day till Monday afternoon. “The way the House is being functioning, it does not represent the country’s people whose problems are not being raised properly at this forum,” PPP parliamentarian Syed Naveed Qamar said while taking the floor.

Naveed Qamar said the House was also not executing the legislative business in a dignified way. “Till the situation improves here, we will not become part of proceedings of the House,” the PPP member while announcing to stage boycott on behalf of the opposition parties said.

Taking the floor, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Babar Awan, while regretting attitude of the opposition parties, said: “Proper conduct of the House was possible if rules, directives and rulings of the speaker are respected.” He said it also happened for the first time that the opposition boycotted the business advisory committee, national security committee and pointed fingers at the Speaker.

The Speaker Asad Qaisar said it was collective responsibility of the treasury and opposition benches to respect decorum of the House. “Any member having an issue can come to me directly,” he said. In the meanwhile, the PML-N parliamentarian Shaikh Fiazuddin pointed out lack of quorum in the House. On counting, the minimum required members were not present.