PPP blocks legislation in National Assembly

Differences between the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its coalition partner Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) persisted on Tuesday as the approval of 14 bills was deferred after the PPP declined to cooperate with the government on the legislative agenda.

The session, chaired by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, remained largely inconclusive on the legislative front, with proceedings confined to just eight of the 62 agenda items and no action taken on any of the 14 bills listed for legislation under the private members' day agenda.

Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq told the House that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhary and PPP senior leader Naveed Qamar had requested that legislation should not be undertaken, following which the legislative process was halted for the remainder of the sitting.

The session, however, proceeded with discussions on several other issues, including the country's security situation, water shortages in Islamabad, implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), problems facing the Pakistanis in Gulf countries and reforms in the passport system.

Speaking on a point of order, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said terrorism and development could not proceed simultaneously and supported Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai's proposal for a two-day debate on the deteriorating law-and-order situation.

Barrister Gohar said that the Taliban issue was increasing day by day and stressed that NAP needed to be implemented effectively. He also raised concerns over difficulties facing the Afghan students in appearing for medical tests in Pakistan.

He urged the government to ensure that medical students did not become victims of tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, while also raising the issue of non-extension of Pakistani citizens' visas in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, responding to the concerns about Pakistanis in the UAE, said that he was fully aware of the circumstances faced by Pakistani citizens. He added that most of those encountering difficulties were people who had attempted to become a party to the recent war, adding that if an individual living in another country took a position against that country, a reaction would naturally follow.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told the house that members would be briefed on the Makkah Peace Agreement to the extent that information could appropriately be shared with parliament. He said preparations were under way for the briefing and recalled that the Interior Ministry had twice previously offered to facilitate a debate in the house on the security situation.

Talal Chaudhry said that implementation of NAP was a priority of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The plan, he added, had been formulated during the tenure of the previous PTI-led government and enjoyed consensus among all political parties.

The minister of state said the government was prepared to hold a debate on the security situation for one or two days or even an entire week.

However, he cautioned that the ongoing war could not be brought to an immediate conclusion.