National Assembly of Pakistan. PHOTO: APP
According to the rules, the leader of opposition was scheduled to open the budget debate but as he stood up from his seat a number of federal cabinet members also rose from their seats and started requesting the chair to let them speak on point of order by putting aside the agenda.
When the proceeding started at around 10:30am, Speaker Asad Qaiser allowed the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senior leader and former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to speak on a point of order.
Ashraf demanded issuance of production order of the PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, who is currently in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) custody, so that he could attend the budget session.
He said, "The former president is at three-minute distance from the National Assembly and his absence from the important budget session is unfortunate and it will not be a good precedent."
He also asked the treasury benches to exhibit responsible attitude in the parliament. "The parliament is a reflection of collective wisdom of 220 million people and it should be respected," he said.
However, when the speaker gave the floor to Shehbaz Sharif, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari expressed displeasure, saying it had never happened in the past. She asked the speaker to follow the parliamentary tradition in this regard.
Time and again a number of parliamentarians rose from their seats seeking the chair's permission to speak on points of order. The members from both sides of aisle also kept arguing with each other, forcing the speaker to suspend the house proceeding for 10 minutes.
Before suspending the proceeding, the speaker made repeated requests to maintain order in the house and avoid crosstalk. Later, on resumption of the proceedings, the speaker asked Shehbaz Sharif to start debate on the budget.
But, Shehbaz Sharif requested the speaker to ensure order in the house so that he could speak on the budget. The situation forced the speaker to once again suspend the house proceeding till 2:00pm.
After the Friday prayer, the atmosphere in the house did not change as Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, who took over the chair, kept requesting Shehbaz Sharif for almost 45 minutes to open the debate.
However, Shehbaz Sharif insisted that Maulana Asad Mehmood of the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) be allowed to speak first on a point of order with regard to Prime Minister Imran Khan's allegedly controversial remarks with regard to Islamic history during his recent address to the nation.
The deputy speaker was of the view that he would give time to all members one by one once the budget debate started. As per rule and tradition, the budget debate formally opens after the speech of leader of opposition.
He requested the members to show seriousness and take up the agenda of the house. He said it seemed that the opposition was divided and not allowing its leader to deliver speech on the federal budget.
In his brief remarks later, Shehbaz Sharif severally criticised economic policies of the government and highlighted miseries of the common man. Later, the deputy speaker adjourned the house to meet again on Monday at 4: 30 pm.
According to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, the PTI lawmakers adopted an aggressive strategy at the NA session on the PM's directive. Two days ago, Imran Khan in a meeting at the PM house had directed the cabinet that an aggressive stance be adopted against the opposition.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Communications Minister Murad Saeed and Shireen Mazari said the opposition had lately been putting obstacles in proceedings of the house.
The opposition members despite their promises would walk out from the session after completing their speeches and would not listen to government's stance. If the opposition does not change its behaviour, then the government will be forced to offer resistance too, Mazari said.
The PPP MNA Nafisa Shah, however, said it is the first time in the parliament's history that the treasury benches are staging protest in the house. She termed the government's attitude non-parliamentary and unconstitutional.
WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ