Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. PHOTO: AFP
Opposition’s lawmakers in the National Assembly on Monday staged a token walkout to protest against the continued absence of the prime minister from the assembly’s sessions.
“We along with the entire nation were expecting that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will come today and take the nation into confidence regarding the government’s strategy [regarding terrorism]… but it did not happen,” said Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi as he announced opposition’s walkout from the proceedings.
“What we [opposition] can do to invite attention of the prime minister is to stage a token walkout from the proceedings,” Qureshi said.
Following the announcement, members of the PTI, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) left the house.
As the opposition returned to the house, Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed quoted Rules of Business and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly and said membership of a lawmaker could be cancelled in case of 40 days absence without leave application.
“I want your ruling on this matter,” Ahmed urged Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq without saying in so many words that he was referring to the absence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“I know about whom you are talking about,” said the speaker. “Prime Minister’s leave applications have been received and they are part of the record.”
The AML leader, however, referred to the speaker’s routine practice of reading out members’ leave applications before the start of proceedings and said this had not been done in the prime minister’s case.
Later, Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah expressed disappointment over the fact that the PM did not bother to attend the NA proceedings.
“Parliament is the forum where PM is supposed to come and represent 180 million people of this country who have voted him to power,” he added.
Shah referred to the meeting of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) parliamentary party and said the PM had chaired the meeting but did not attend the NA session. “I would request the PM to attend the session, on behalf of the opposition and as per aspirations of the masses,” he added.
The PTI chief Imran Khan also lamented over the absence of Nawaz and said the country direly needed a leader at this critical juncture.
In response to this protest, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan tried to justify the PM’s absence on Monday. “The PM was supposed to attend the sitting but he could not do that in order to have more consultation over the security situation,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2014.
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