NA proceedings cut short by PTI protest

House adjourned after Question Hour

Listen to article

ISLAMABAD:

Opposition's protest marred the National Assembly proceedings on the third day of the current session on Thursday, forcing Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah to adjourn the sitting until Friday (today).

Lawmakers from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) started noisy protest at the onset of the Question Hour in the house. They raised vociferous sloganeering the house and torn up the copies of the agenda. The treasury members accused the opposition of sidestepping discussion on the public issues.

In the meanwhile, opposition's Iqbal Afridi pointed out a lack of quorum, after which the session was briefly adjourned. However, the quorum issue persisted when the house resumed its sitting. On that the chair adjourned the sitting until Friday (today).

Earlier, during the brief proceedings, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar, while Answering a question during the Question Hour, told the house that the PTI founder Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bbi, and her friend Farah Gogi were involved in a £190 million corruption case.

The information minister, while replying to another question, told the National Assembly that the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam - one of the largest dams in the world - would be completed in time which would help reduce the risk of floods.

He said that the land acquisition for the dam was completed in 2013 and in the first phase, the work of diversion of the Indus river to Diamer-Bhasha Dam was completed by May 2024. Tarar added that a permanent bridge was built on the dam in June 2024.

Replying to yet another question, the information minister said that electricity generation was in surplus, while the energy ministry was considering various proposals to meet the required electricity demand in the country.

Replying to a question from Member National Assembly (MNA) Syed Rafiullah, Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Dr Nelson Azeem informed the house that the tender for the regulations of the Nursing Council was transparently awarded to the lowest bidder.

The parliamentary secretary explained that five parties had applied for the tender, of which four had submitted bids. He added that one party was rejected, while of the remaining two parties, the bid was awarded to the lowest party.

He said that no party had filed any suit in the court, while no complaint was registered against the tender bid. The parliamentary secretary said that the tender process was transparent and was awarded to the lowest bidder. (WITH INPUT FROM APP)