PA has ‘good laugh’ at misinformed parliamentary secretary

Rana Shehbaz completely unprepared to answer questions on livestock and dairy

LAHORE: The opposition had a good laugh, quite literally, over PTI Parliamentary Secretary Rana Shehbaz’s failure to answer valid questions related to the livestock and dairy department. The completely unprepared Shehbaz had to receive more than 30 departmental notes through the PA’s staff with information which would allow him to provide answers.

Lawmakers from both sides afforded themselves a hearty laugh over some of the misinformed answers provided by the MPA. At some stages, it seemed the PS resorted to bluffing with his responses and quickly corrected his replies after receiving relevant information from the department through the notes.

Some opposition lawmakers complained to PA Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari about the irresponsible attitude of the PS, but all in vain. As a result, PPP’s MPA Syed Usman Mehmood refused to present his query in protest against the mannerism of the parliamentary secretary. Similarly, a PML-N MPA did not frame her supplementary questions in protest.

During the session, PML-N lawmakers focused on the production orders of their MPAs, including opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, cancer medicines, the increasing incidents of child sexual abuse, dengue and media coverage restrictions.

Former PML-N minister Rana Mashhood expressed his grave concern over the failure to produce production orders for opposition MPAs, despite assurances from PA Speaker Chaudhary Pervez Elahi for the same.

PPP’s Syed Hassan Murtaza strongly condemned the arrest of his party’s leader Khursheed Shah on the day when a conference was called on the Kashmir issue. He asked the government whether the culprits of the Chunia incident had been arrested or whether it preferred to detain people like Khursheed Shah instead. He urged accountability on merit rather than political victimisation.

PTI’s provincial minister Dr Murad Rass interrupted Hassan Murtaza as he spoke and the PPP leader walked out of proceedings in protest. Also, PTI’s Uzma Kardar interrupted proceedings but was given a slap on the wrist by the deputy speaker who asserted that he would not allow such disturbances. He asked the MPA why she was speaking out of turn.

He warned of suspending Uzma’s membership if she did not restrain herself and the MPA walked out of the house in protest for not being allowed to speak.

PML-N MPAs wanted to speak, on a point of order, over the government’s move to prorogue the session, despite the fact that the treasury had assured them it would resolve the issue surrounding production orders. Regardless, the deputy speaker prorogued the session for an indefinite period.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2019.