Hamza Shehbaz remains cool as a cucumber

Unlike past weeks, assembly remains relatively calm

LAHORE: Unlike recent weeks, the last few sittings of the Punjab Assembly remained relatively calm despite the presentation of a provincial budget and the attendance of an arrested opposition leader.

Even though the weather outside the Punjab Assembly was sizzling, opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz Sharif remained cool as a cucumber as he delivered his first speech in the house after being allowed to attend the session based on a production order. He had earlier been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau on corruption charges.

While some brushed off his speech in the Punjab Assembly, others believed the questions he raised over  ‘false accountability’ were valid. Although NAB had been used as a tool by different political parties in the past, Hamza outlined that the same body was being used in ‘Naya Pakistan’ under the garb of an impartial accountability process.

Hamza urges Punjab Assembly to forget grudges

“The time my family and I are going through shall pass. But who will pay for the losses caused by punishments being handed out under false charges?” he asked. The statement drew a mixed reaction from lawmakers.

Some of the MPAs agreed with Hamza’s notion that politicians need to learn from past mistakes and realise there is nothing to gain from false exercises. Others believed the opposition leader was sending a veiled warning that the PML-N leadership may be facing a difficult time, but circumstances change and that his party will bounce back to teach its opponents a lesson.

In his speech before the house, Hamza took the opportunity to point out that he had initially been implicated by NAB in a Rs85billion corruption scandal. However, after further investigations the amount was whittled down to Rs33 billion. However, that wasn’t the end and the figure finally settled at Rs180 million. He took a jibe at the government, saying people were laughing at the accountability process in Naya Pakistan.

The opposition leader showed some bravado in the house when he declared, on the floor of the house, that he would bid farewell to the world of politics if corruption worth even a single rupee was proven against him.

Hamza Shehbaz also kept his cool when treasury legislators tried to interrupt him. He also lightheartedly brushed off provincial law minister Raja Basharat’s claim that former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi could be booked under treason charges for taking then finance minister Ishaq Dar abroad in his aircraft.

When Raja Basharat credited PA Speaker Chaudhary Pervez Elahi, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Prime Minister Imran Khan for introducing legislation related to the production order, Hamza said it was the house that was to be praised for becoming became empowered, not individuals.

Meanwhile, the first day of house proceedings went smoothly, but speaker Elahi’s soft attitude with a parliamentary secretary, who was unable to respond to the queries of the lawmakers in an appropriate manner, was fairly evident. Usually, the speaker takes parliamentary secretaries to task for not being able to respond in a satisfactory manner.

Punjab Assembly speaker issues production orders for Hamza Shehbaz, Salman Rafique

On the second day, when the provincial government presented its budget, the opposition lawmakers did not seem to be playing its role effectively. Analysts had earlier predicted that the opposition benches would give the government a tough time when the budget was presented.

Although PML-N did stir a bit of a ruckus, it was nothing close to what previous finance ministers had to endure. In past budget presentations, the finance minister’s words were barely audible due to the noise created by the opposition.

This time, however, the outlay of the Punjab government could clearly be heard. However, some observers predict that PML-N is saving its voice for a debate over the budget in the general discussion due next week. It has been predicted that the coming sessions are going to be fiery as a variety of issues are to be discussed before the budget is finally passed by the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2019.