Govt under fire for convening ‘one-sided’ sitting

Opposition stages walkout from Senate; proceedings adjourned till Friday

ISLAMABAD:

The joint opposition on Tuesday criticised the government and staged a walkout from the House over not being consulted before convening a joint sitting of parliament on Wednesday (today).

They also pointed out the lack of quorum while leaving, compelling Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani to adjourn the proceedings till Friday.

Unlike in the past, only one query was raised during the Question Hour, which ended in just 15 minutes.

Two more ordinances were presented by the government, namely the Parental Protection Ordinance, 2021 and Pakistan Food Security Flow and Information Ordinance, 2021.

Responding to a call attention notice by PTI’s Mohsin Aziz, Adviser to Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affair Dr Babar Awan told the House that the federal cabinet had decided in principle to hand over the properties of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) to the provinces.

To a call attention notice by Jamaat-e-Islami’s Mushtaq Ahmed, Awan said the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) would kick off groundwork on the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project after a month.

He added that the Centre had handed over Rs20 billion for the project while the Sindh government had agreed to provide Rs6 billion.

Awan further said the joint sitting of parliament would be held at noon on Wednesday.

He added that National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser had written a letter to opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif seeking his assistance and suggestions. In response, he added, Shehbaz had sought a month’s time for preparing the suggestions.

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman claimed that the government had adjourned the earlier sitting because its allies had decided against cooperating with it.

“The sitting is being called again now that the allies have returned,” she added.

“This government is running on crutches. These crutches are no longer effective now.”

Awan replied that one could hope for a gap between the government and its allies but that would not happen.

"The allies are with us and we are with them," he added.

He noted that there are many bills that needed to be passed, including the ones pertaining to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and women's rights.

Opposition leader Yousuf Raza Gilani said they did not want to engage in a blame game, but the government had convened the sitting without any consensus, consultation or advisory committee.

“Therefore, we have decided to stage a walkout.”

During the walkout, opposition Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi pointed out the lack of quorum.

As the quorum was not reached after a count, the Senate chairman adjourned the proceedings.