Legislators of all stripes played truant

As a force, the opposition was hardly seen giving the government a tough time in National Assembly

ISLAMABAD: In the year 2016, the government lawmakers and ministers showed a general disinterest in the affairs of the National Assembly – a situation that sometimes made it difficult for the speaker to continue proceedings of the house. The speaker, Ayaz Sadiq, also faced allegations against his integrity and impartiality.

The government struggled to ensure the required number [86] of its lawmaker to run the house. It faced embarrassment on several occasions when the proceedings had to be adjourned due to lack of quorum.

The front rows for federal ministers at the treasury benches often remained vacant and this absence was continuously highlighted by the opposition but to no avail. The house saw Minister for Law Zahid Hamid leading from the front with Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab assisting him

The continued absence of federal ministers often annoyed even the speaker but Hamid and Aftab were always there to pacify the angry lawmakers.  Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar were often represented by parliamentary secretaries for interior and finance.

The PTI kept the government on its toes while the PPP played both sides of the fence.

Defensive government

The government was on the defence throughout the year but kept on with the legislative business despite raucous from the divided opposition over ordinances, lack of quorum and bills.

The house passed about 50 bills – including the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, two pro-women bills, The Hindu Marriage and Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (Conversion) bills.

During budget discussion, the house also witnessed a division in the ranks of the ruling PML-N. The party lawmakers were apparently divided into two groups, one of which kept on leaving the house in the middle to disrupt the proceedings.

The seriousness of this divide could be gauged from the fact that during the passage of the cybercrime bill only 30 government lawmakers were present in the house.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s offensive remarks on the PTI lawmaker Shireen Mazari echoed in the national media for a long time. Asif refused to apologise to Mazari, who moved the court against the snub.

Opposition’s role

The PPP kept hedging its bets and apparently bailed the government out on several occasions. As a force, the opposition was hardly seen giving the government a tough time in the NA.

The PPP’s lawmakers picked on the government benches but that seemed cosmetic as after the passage of a bill or piece of legislation both sides would be seen chatting and smiling.

Leader of Opposition Khursheed Shah kept criticising the government for several policy decisions, oil prices and ‘disinterest’ of ministers in the house business.

The PPP’s Shazia Marri, Nafisa Shah, Naveed Qamar were the most active members in pointing out loopholes in the system, legislation and the government’s ‘lackluster’ performance.

The PTI is lesser in number as compared to the PPP, but the party gave a tough time to the government on several decisions, policies and legislation. The PTI’s Mazari, Arif Alvi, Asad Umer, Murad Saeed remained at the forefront in lambasting the government.

The PTI’s chief made a few appearances in the NA and in September he said he did not consider Ayaz Sadiq the speaker anymore. During the last sitting of the house in the year, the PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi also reiterated that the speaker was partial and was siding with the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2017.