Ruckus in NA over privilege motion

After much hue and cry, speaker reserves ruling on motion moved by Khokhar against demolition of his house

ISLAMABAD:

The National Assembly session on Friday saw commotion and protests by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNAs after the treasury benches opposed a privilege motion moved by MNA Afzal Khokhar against the Punjab government for razing a portion of his house in Lahore during an operation against the land mafia.

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-minister Ahsan Iqbal, MNA Murtaza Javed Abbasi and other members of the assembly laid siege to Speaker Asad Qaiser’s dais while protesting against the government's opposition to the motion.

The speaker got angry and shouted at the PML-N MNAs.

Addressing Iqbal, the speaker reminded him that he was a federal minister and called himself a professor. “Is this the way you talk?”

After that, Qaiser reserved his ruling on the privilege movement.

During the session, chaired by the speaker, Khokhar said that he should be told why the Lahore administration “attacked his house despite a restraining order”.

Khokhar said that there were political motives behind all these actions, accusing DC Lahore, LDA and police of committing contempt of court.

He demanded action against the Lahore administration, insisting that the matter should be referred to the relevant standing committee. "We are the fifth buyers of this land … there is a record," he said.

He told the house they should be ashamed of levelling accusations against a member. “Homes for daughters and sisters are not built on grabbed areas.”

On the operation, he said that they kept on bullying, “we kept on being hospitable”.

Khokhar demanded an inquiry from the speaker into the Bani Gala House being legalised for Rs1.2 million and said that he “did not buy sewing machines for his sisters from government funds”.

“Send the matter to the privilege committee, if I prove to be a grabber, then punish me.”

Opposing the privilege motion, Dr Babar Awan, adviser to the prime minister on parliamentary affairs, said, “Tell us under which law the right to occupy government land worth Rs1.5 billion is given to a member of the National Assembly.”