Qasim Suri expels PPP’s Rafiullah from NA for causing commotion

PPP Raja Pervez Ashraf apologises for the commotion

ISLAMABAD:

Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri on Wednesday ordered PPP member Agha Rafiullah to leave the National Assembly session for causing a commotion and disrupting order in the Lower House.

The PPP MNA caused disorder after he was denied persimmon to speak after Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan. The deputy speaker ordered the sergeant-at-arms to expel Rafiullah.

However, former prime minister and PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf apologised to the deputy speaker and said "this should not have happened". 

After Suri asked the unruly lawmaker to leave the assembly and then later rejoin, opposition lawmakers started to chant slogans in protest. Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari also inquired from the sergeant-at-arms regarding why the lawmaker was not removed from the house.

However, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan suggested that Rafiullah should spend a minute in the lobby and then return.

“Under Rule No.19, the speaker can remove a member from the House for spoiling the atmosphere of the House,” he added. “A member can also be suspended. The ruling of the chair has been announced and it should be honoured.”

During the session, MNA Abdul Akbar Chitrali said that he was protesting against the opposition. “A special package should have been announced today for the martyrs.

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri also endorsed Chitrali’s views saying that the Peshawar attack was heart-breaking.

“Those who were reciting the Holy Quran were martyred,” he said. “What will the nation think if we do politics on that?"

Addressing the National Assembly, PML-N's Khawaja Asif said that the price of wheat in the country has been fixed at Rs1,600 but at present, the market price was Rs2,400, whereas it was being imported at the same price.

“Our country is agricultural but agriculture is being destroyed, wheat cultivation is being destroyed at the cost of sugarcane cultivation,” the former defence minister said.

He added that agriculture can increase the country's GDP growth but the government has a "farmer-killing policy".

“Only time will tell which wheat lobby is being protected,” he said, “the support price of wheat should be fixed at Rs 2,000 so that cultivation can increase,”

Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that a meeting has been held in the federal cabinet on fixing the price of wheat and added that recommendations of three provinces had come but no decision had been taken as of yet. Suggestions of the opposition would also be considered, he said.