Lower house expresses solidarity with army

The National Assembly paid tribute and expressed its solidarity with the Pakistan Army through a unanimous resolution on Thursday, urging the government to exercise its authority against those who were campaigning against the country.

During the session, with Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the chair, the lawmakers highlighted the problems facing the growers. The speaker summoned a meeting of the house special committee on agriculture to discuss the issue.

Dissident Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Ahmad Hassan Dehar presented the resolution to pay tribute to the services of the Pakistan Army. The resolution, which was approved unanimously, acknowledged the services and sacrifices of the army.

The resolution said that Pakistan’s armed forces were the defenders of the country’s geographical borders but a political faction was propagating against them. The whole nation stands rock solid behind its army, it added.

Describing the army as “our red line”, the resolution demanded of the state and the government to exercise their authority against those campaigning against the country, adding that such elements must be made an example of.

Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq criticised former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan for criticising the state institutions. “A fake political Mahatma continues to slam his political opponents and institutions,” he said.

“Imran Khan imposed on the country after freezing the RTS,” he added, referring to the downing of Results Transmission System after the 2018 general elections. He added that his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) joined parliament with some reservations.

“We were jailed but were did not sent Imran Khan’s government packing by besieging it. But what is happening today. What’s happening with this fake Mahatma, is the reward of his own actions. It is a RSS-PTI brand,” he said, referring to the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in India.

During the session, members strongly protested over the plight of the country’s farmers. Nawab Sher Waseer of the PTI said that without the start of sugarcane crushing, not only the farmer would be affected but the whole of the country would be harmed.

Waseer warned that if the fields were not cleared of sugarcane crop timely, there would be no land available for the wheat cultivation. He demanded of the government to announce support price of sugar cane and allow export of sugar stocks, available in large quantities at the sugar mills.

Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar told the house that the delay in starting the sugarcane crushing was matter of life and death for the growers. The farmers were affected first by the floods and now the sugarcane crushing had been delayed, he added.

However, National Food Security Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema opposed the sugar export. “If the export is allowed today, we will have to import it two months later,” he told the house. I challenge you, if the export of sugar is allowed the price will go up.”

The minister stressed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was committed to the development of agriculture and the welfare of the farmer. Later, the speaker summoned a special meeting of the Agricultural Committee and adjourned the proceedings until Friday (today).