Opposition rejects JIT, renews call for PM’s resignation

Senate prorogued after session mars by protest

ISLAMABAD: The prime minister might have been saved by the Panamagate verdict, but the opposition on Friday unanimously announced that it would not accept Nawaz Sharif as the leader of the House because of adverse observations made by all five judges.

Almost entire opposition rose up in protest, demanding the prime minister to resign in the light of the Supreme Court’s verdict.

They gathered around the speaker’s dais and tore copies of the session’s agenda. The protest lasted for 14 minutes.

Addressing the lawmakers, Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah pointed out that two senior judges of the apex court had clearly disqualified the premier while three others had also not opposed them.

Appreciating the absence of the leader of the house, Shah said that it was constitutionally and legally okay that he was not there on Friday.

Urging the prime minister to resign, he said that it was crucial to save the parliament, system and democracy in the country.

“(The formation of) JIT is (nothing more than) a drama. Who among subordinates will even dare to investigate his chief,” he stated.



The session was indefinitely prorogued without taking up any agenda item by the chair amid the opposition’s strong protest.

The entire House met for just 20 minutes and the session was chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Mutaza Javed Abbasi.

Parliamentary leaders of PTI, PkMAP, JI, AMLP and ANP attended the sitting.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan also attended the proceedings of the Lower House after a long time.

The House did not take up a resolution for extending an ordinance while it also failed to take up ‘Starred Question’s and the call-attention notices.

The Leader of the Opposition and three ministers spoke on Points of Order consuming around six minutes.

Anti-PM slogans reverberated in the House while members of the treasury benches chanted slogans against Imran Khan.

The chair attempted to bring the House in order but was unable to do so.



Khursheed Shah asked the chair to give Imran Khan some time to speak but PTI’s chairman was not allowed to do so.

The House also witnessed a rare scene when PPP lawmakers also chanted slogans of ‘Go Nawaz, Go’ along with PTI’s lawmakers.

During the current sitting, the House was constantly faced with the problem of lack of quorum and the sessions were adjourned five times because of this.

Prior to the sitting of the National Assembly, a meeting of parliamentary parties of the opposition of both Houses of the Parliament was held in a committee room.

The meeting, chaired by Khursheed Shah, had been called to devise a unified strategy in the wake of Panama Gate’s verdict.

Prominent among those who attended the meeting were JI chief Sirajul Haq, PTI’s Jahangir Tareen, Shafqat Mahmood, PPP’s  Aitizaz Ahsan, Taj Haidar and AML’s Sheikh Rasheed.

During this meeting, a consensus developed which was later reflected in the proceedings of the National Assembly when opposition lawmakers unanimously called for the prime minister’s resignation.



Meanwhile, opposition parties in the Senate on Friday staged protest against the prime minister as their slogans marred the proceedings of the upper house forcing Chairman Raza Rabbani to prorogue the house.

For almost more than half-an-hour, the chairman kept requesting the members to maintain order in the house but the opposition members, especially from the PPPP continued chanting slogans against the prime minister.

It was a rare incidence when even the voice of the chairman went unheard as the members led by Opposition Leader Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan continued chanting slogans and desks beating.

After repeated request by the chairman when he felt that the opposition was not ready to listen to his requests, Rabbani read out the prorogation order.

Earlier speaking on points of order, the leaders from opposition the PPPP and the PTI said that they would continue the protest against the prime minister and would raise the issue of disqualification at all fora.

Speaking on a point of order, Barrister Aitzaz Ashan, Azam Khan Swati, Sirajul Haq, Saeed Ghani and Nouman Wazir Khattak claimed that the respondents could not provide any documentary evidence to prove their innocence in the panama papers case.

Except the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the opposition leaders criticised the prime minister and spoke on the verdict of the apex court. The Senate chairman later prorogued the session of the upper house, adjourning it sine die.

(With additional input from APP)