PTI senators make Sanjrani lose his cool

‘Rowdy’ opposition members stage token walkout after chairman takes away mic from them

ISLAMABAD:

The PTI senators on Friday staged a token walkout from the upper house of parliament after chairman Sadiq Sanjrani did not allow them to speak by taking away ther microphone from them.

The Senate chairman was infuriated over the chaos created by the opposition members and expressed his annoyance in clear words.

“Today, nobody’s bullying will be tolerated,” he said while telling PTI senators to return to their seats.

As the proceedings started, PTI Senator Azam Swati said he wanted to discuss the acquittal of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz in the Avenfield case.

“If thieves and watchmen join hands, there’s nothing that a court can do,” he maintained.

“Now, there’s no stopping them in parliament as well,” he added.

Senator Faisal Javed pointed out that the cabinet comprised 73 members and not one of them came to parliament.

“If the entire cabinet decides to come to the Senate one day, there will be no place to sit,” he quipped.

Federal Aviation and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique replied that a person should reflect on their mistakes and speak the truth so that they could be rectified in the future.

The minister maintained that there were international airports construction in the country but lacked global standards.

“The ownership of airports should remain with the government," he added.

Rafique also suggested that political appointments should be ended to improve the performance of government departments.

He claimed that political people had a habit of blaming others for their mistakes.

Maintaining that there were political hirings in the PIA on a massive scale in the past, Rafique pledged that as long as he would serve as the aviation minister, he would not allow this practice to carry on.

During the proceedings, the opposition members kept insisting that they wanted to leave their seats and come to the floor of the House.

This irked the Senate chairman, who instructed the opposition members to remain seated.

Hinting at removing Senator Abdul Qadir Mandokhel from the Senate hall, the chairman said shouting In the House while standing on the seats would not be tolerated.

On not being given the microphone, the PTI senators staged a token walkout from the House.

However, they returned some time later.

Opposition leader in Senate Shahzad Waseem said the nation had decided that changing its fate was in its own hands.

Referring to Maryam’s acquittal in the Avenfield case, he claimed that sweets were being distributed over being given amnesty for theft.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar replied that it took 56 court appearances for Maryam to be acquitted.

He added that the veil had been lifted from the face of fascism in the court.

Waseem also accepted the challenge of the leader of the House to have debate on the recent audio leaks.

The Senate approved the Publication of Pakistan Laws Bill 2022 and the Import Export Bill 2022,. The House also passed the Diplomatic and Consular Officers (Oath and Fees) Amendment Bill 2022 by majority vote.

Later, the session was adjourned till Monday.