Joint opposition submits requisition for NA session

Khawaja Asif says want ‘an exclusive shot’ to discuss issues being faced by common man

ISLAMABAD:

Amid rising political temperature, over a hundred members of the joint opposition on Monday submitted a requisition notice to the National Assembly Secretariat, requesting Speaker Asad Qaiser to convene a session of the lower house of parliament to discuss arrests, inflation, circular debt and collapsing foreign relations.

A total of 125 members of the joint opposition, which had pledged to give a tough time to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government in and outside parliament in the coming months at an all parties conference (APC) last month, submitted the notice under Article 54(3) of the Constitution.

Under the Constitution, the speaker is bound to convene the assembly session within 14 days – ie by October 19.

PML-N’s Khawaja Asif told The Express Tribune that the opposition wants “an exclusive shot” to discuss the issues being faced by the common man. “We are not oblivious to the problems of the people,” the PML-N stalwart said, adding that the opposition also wanted to send a message to the people that real issues were also being discussed amid the flared-up political scene.

Asif said that the purpose of requisitioning the session was simple – it would give the opposition an opportunity to pursue its agenda for a day that the government otherwise won’t allow during a routine session.

To a question about what would the opposition do if the government itself summoned the session within 14 days, Asif said, “The opposition would ensure that it is given ample time to discuss the issues during the sessions.”

The requisition notice reveals that the joint opposition has decided to take up six issues – arrest of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, rising inflation in the country, increasing cases of violence against women, including rape, and exponential increase in the price of life-saving medicines.

The opposition also intends to discuss the “simultaneous extortionate rise in electricity prices and increase in circular debt beyond Rs2,300 billion” and “continuing collapse in Pakistan’s foreign relations endangering national security”. A list of 125 MNAs along with their signatures is attached with the requisition.

The political temperature is high after three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Imran Khan by terming him a “selected PM” and calling out the people who allegedly brought him to power in the opposition’s APC. Since then, the opposition upped its ante against the government and others coming out with all guns blazing.

As political volatility arose amid a flurry of opposition events, PM Imran accused the opposition parties of following the agenda of India by maligning the armed forces of the country. The premier had, subsequently, told his party members to devise a strategy to foil the moves of the newly formed alliance of the opposition parties – Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Subsequently, Interior Minister Brigadier (retd) Ijaz Ahmad Shah, information minister Shibli Faraz, Science Minister Chaudhry Fawad, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid and several others have lambasted the PDM.

The criticism by ministers, advisers, and special assistants increased manifold, especially, a day after the major opposition parties threw their weight behind Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman by choosing him as the president of the PDM in the first phase.

To continue the anti-government momentum in and outside parliament, the joint opposition has announced holding rallies in different cities across the country, starting from October 18. The APC had issued a 26-point charter of demands and resolved to start street protests, alleging that the 2018 elections were rigged in favour of the PTI.

With the requisition notice, the opposition is all set to take the political battle to the floor of the house.