PTI minister’s ‘unruly behaviour’ irks ex-PMs Abbasi, Ashraf

PML-N leader says if opposition leader cannot come to NA, neither can PM

ISLAMABAD: Two former prime ministers of the country – PML-N's Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Raja Pervez Asharf of PPP – on Friday recorded their strong protest against 'non-parliamentary' remarks made by Minister for Communications Murad Saeed during yesterday’s session of the National Assembly.

Harsh words were also exchanged between Abbasi and Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari during today's session.

Saeed’s scathing criticism of the top leaders of the main opposition parties had prompted a loud protest in the National Assembly on Thursday as well, which subsided only after the chair ordered to turn off mike of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s key cabinet member.

In today's session, Abbasi fired broadside at the PTI government, saying the ruling party will not be able to run affairs of the parliament like this.

Reacting to his comment, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari termed PML-N leader’s criticism a a “threat”.

Raja Pervez Ashraf also expressed serious concerns over ‘unruly behaviour’ of PTI ministers, saying the parliamentary decorum was being violated on a regular basis under this government.



The session remained suspended for 20 minutes over lack of quorum.

Taking the floor on Thursday, Murad Saeed began his speech by lashing out at the opposition for using the term ‘selected prime minister’ for Imran Khan.

“A selected person is one who became first a finance minister and later a prime minister after formation of the IJI [Islami Jamhoori Ittihad in 1990],” the minister said in an apparent reference to the former PM Nawaz Sharif who is also supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Saeed said an elected prime minister addresses Pakistanis when he visits a foreign country while a ‘selected prime minister’ returns from abroad with a ‘Qatari letter’.  He said the opposition has nothing to comment on the mini-budget so its leader use the word ‘selected’ for an elected prime minister.

“Their [PML-N] leader is serving time at Kot Lakhpat jail after he was found guilty in a corruption case. [PML-N President] Shehbaz Sharif and [Punjab former law minister] Rana Sanaullah are responsible for 2014 Model Town incident,” he added.

Coming down hard also on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Saeed said the PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari used to claim that he would ‘teach us politics’. He should rather teach politics to [the PPP chairman] Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, he said.

Meanwhile, PML-N leaders including Abbasi, Khawaja Asif and Marriyum Aurangzeb held a news conference outside the Parliament House. They said PTI leader Naeemul Haq’s statement pertaining to canceling production orders of Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif was an “open threat”.

Abbasi said Haq had threatened his party through his tweets. “We wanted to raise the issue with the speaker, but he did not allow us,” he added. The former premier further said, “If opposition leader cannot attend the NA session then the prime minister will not come here as well.”

Asif said Prime Minister Imran Khan encourages use of foul language and by doing so, he was undermining sanctity of the parliament.

Earlier, the lower house resumed its session with Speaker Asad Qaiser in the chair. The house passed Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2019, moved by Parliamentary Secretary on Law and Justice Malika Ali Bukhari. She said the bill was aimed at increasing the strength of judges in the high court.



“There was a dire shortage of judges [in the high court] … we have fulfilled the obligation in order to ensure early disposal of cases,” Bukhari remarked.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan presented “The Elections (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019” during the session. The National Assembly also adopted a motion for the establishment of standing committees of the house.

The motion authorised the speaker to include any member and make changes in the composition of these committees.

The NA session was later prorogued for an indefinite period.