National Assembly outburst: PPP, PML-N spar over energy crisis
Opposition threatens to hold more protests over the weekend.
ISLAMABAD:
Hitting back at the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for trying to benefit from the ongoing power crisis, Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Nadeem Afzal Chan termed the move by the opposition “politically motivated”.
In a fiery verbal exchange during Thursday’s National Assembly session, Chan and the PML-N’s Rana Tanveer took cheap shots at the other’s leader. Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi expunged some of Chan’s and Tanveer’s remarks from the proceedings.
Ransacking and arson of public property over load-shedding is “highly unfortunate and politically motivated”, Chan said. He also criticised the Punjab government for its inability to counter the dengue virus in the province. Tanveer retorted that despite being in power for three and a half years, the government had failed to overcome the power crisis.
The war of words came after the PML-N threatened to hold more protests this weekend after staging a sit-in outside the presidency in the hopes of embarrassing the government.
“All members of the federal and provincial Parliament will lead public rallies in our constituencies this Saturday … we’ll see who stops us,” the PML-N’s Hanif Abbasi said shortly before his party staged a walkout from the National Assembly.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 7th, 2011.
Hitting back at the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for trying to benefit from the ongoing power crisis, Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Nadeem Afzal Chan termed the move by the opposition “politically motivated”.
In a fiery verbal exchange during Thursday’s National Assembly session, Chan and the PML-N’s Rana Tanveer took cheap shots at the other’s leader. Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi expunged some of Chan’s and Tanveer’s remarks from the proceedings.
Ransacking and arson of public property over load-shedding is “highly unfortunate and politically motivated”, Chan said. He also criticised the Punjab government for its inability to counter the dengue virus in the province. Tanveer retorted that despite being in power for three and a half years, the government had failed to overcome the power crisis.
The war of words came after the PML-N threatened to hold more protests this weekend after staging a sit-in outside the presidency in the hopes of embarrassing the government.
“All members of the federal and provincial Parliament will lead public rallies in our constituencies this Saturday … we’ll see who stops us,” the PML-N’s Hanif Abbasi said shortly before his party staged a walkout from the National Assembly.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 7th, 2011.