Opposition walkout eclipses PM’s cameo appearance

Nawaz fails to woo upset lawmakers from returning to the house

ISLAMABAD: Amid the opposition’s walkout on the second consecutive day on Tuesday against the National Assembly deputy speaker’s ‘discriminatory conduct’ a day earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended the proceedings of the lower house of parliament for 40 minutes.

A train of federal ministers also followed him for this short visit after 35 parliamentary days. It was an unusual day as a number of members of the treasury benches also turned up in the house.



Jumping at the rare opportunity to interact with the premier, several lawmakers rushed to his seat. They handed him pieces of paper and discussed their problems with him. The opposition, however, remained absent despite PM Nawaz’s constant demands for them to return to the house. When he left at 12:40pm, the train of senior members followed suit.



On Monday the opposition had moved an amendment in the ‘motion of thanks’ to the president regarding his address to the joint session of parliament.

Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi came under fire from the opposition for alleged rigging in the counting process to defeat the opposition’s resolution.



The opposition wanted to add a sentence in the government-backed motion. The proposed amendment, however, triggered a disagreement.

“This house expresses its deep gratitude to the president of Pakistan for his address to both houses assembled together on June 4, 2015,” the original motion read.

Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Shazia Marri moved the amendment motion, wanting the government to add these words: “Hoping that soon Pakistan’s reality will reflect the words of the Honourable President.”

The treasury benches could not ensure enough strength to defeat the amendment. Abbasi then announced a tie with 34 votes each and cast his vote in the government’s favour. The opposition did not accept this and challenged the result. He offered recounting but did not order shutting the doors.

After Abbasi’s exit on Tuesday, opposition members entered the house to share their grievances before the vacant chairs of the treasury benches.



Opposition leader Khursheed Shah took the floor and complained about the premier’s ‘non-interference’ strategy to resolve the controversy. “You don’t want to hear the opposition, so you have successfully kept us out of the house in a well-planned manner.”

Referring to Abbasi’s headcount exercise, Shah said: “You have brought your field rigging tactics to this house, and you have committed rigging with parliament.”

Bashir Virk, who chaired the session after Abbasi’s exit, told him: “I appreciate your gesture, but you have missed the opportunity today.”

Shah responded that had PM Nawaz approached the opposition for resolving the controversy, “it would have been better for the premier. Today the PM missed the opportunity to increase his stature by not interfering in this matter directly”.

“If you don’t want to resolve this issue and want to see the opposition out, then we shall keep boycotting parliament,” he warned.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2016.