Opposition slates ‘double standards’ over Hamza’s disembarkation

LAHORE: The opposition lawmakers seemed helpless in Punjab Assembly when the treasury did not allow them to present an out-of-turn resolution to condemn the disembarkation of opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz from an airplane.

Opposition legislators said it was astonishing that Zulfi Bukhari was allowed to travel despite his name was on ECL while Hamza Shehbaz was restrained despite he was not on ECL. Following the strong criticism by the treasury over the last 10 year’s performance of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to bring amendments in the rules of the business especially over issue of the production orders of an arrested legislator, the opposition started intimating treasury that the time would not remain the same and it would change one day.

PML-N’s Waris Shad termed the disembarkation of Hamza as the violation of article 10 of Human Rights Act. NAB and FIA flouted orders of the High Court that had provided him protection with direction to NAB and FIA for intimating Hamza if his arrest will be necessary. He said this is not the matter of Hamza it is the matter of a member of Assembly.

He also sought permission of the chair to allow him to bring an out-of-turn resolution to condemn the violation of aforesaid institutions.

Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari said “no amendments are made over the years”, “we have to sit together”, “we are equal here”. He said there was a need to constitute a committee of senior members to bring the amendments.

PPP’s Syed Hassan Murtaza (sitting on opposition benches) strongly condemned the role of PML-N’s previous government, adding PPP had requested PML-N to bring an amendment in sections 62 and 63 but PML-N remained adamant not to touch these sections at that time. He also lashed PTI government over the ‘accountability process’. “All should be taken into the net of accountability. There should be judges, military officers, bureaucrats and other rather than just politicians,” he remarked.

Provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat said had the previous government brought an amendment in rules of the business, the production orders would have been issued today. “What sort of resolution the opposition wanted to bring when the institutions did not do anything illegal, he said.

Basharat’s remarks triggered a pandemonium in the House when he termed PML-N lawmakers as “slaves of a family” as they are talking about Hamza Shehbaz only rather than Khawaja Salman Rafique who had been arrested by NAB.

Former speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan stood up and said the arrest of Khawaja brothers and disembarkation of Hamza damaged the privilege of House. However, PML-N’s Malik Nadeem Kamran admitted in the house that his party could not do anything in past over this issue.

The deputy speaker asked Kamran to sit with Basharat after the session was over to find a solution of the aforementioned issue.

House started on 12:43pm despite the scheduled time of 11:00am. After the questions-answers, the PTI’s government introduced six bills and the deputy speaker referred them to the relevant committees. Later, the house was adjourned for Thursday (today) at 11:00am.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Basharat said there was no provision available in the rules of business under which the speaker could issue production order. He said the opposition wanted that the rules be changed overnight which they (the legislators of PML-N) could not change in the past 10 years.