‘Party in the house’: Dasti tattles on National Assembly members

Claims parliament lodges have become a hotbed of alcohol, drugs and women.

ISLAMABAD:

In a time of burning national security crises, an outspoken independent member of the National Assembly dropped a bombshell during Thursday’s proceedings with his startling revelation that the parliament lodges had become a “centre of immoral activities” where dance parties take place without any check.

Jamshed Dasti stunned fellow parliamentarians when he said that liquor worth millions of rupees is supplied in the parliament lodges and that a pungent smell of hashish engulfs the area.

“Girls are brought in the lodges and dance parties [take place],” Dasti alleged, claiming that he has evidence in the form of video footage of mujras taking place in the lodges.

The revelation came following a complaint by Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid who had submitted a privilege motion regarding security arrangements at the parliament lodges.

Earlier this week, Ahmed had said that the boundary wall of the lodges needs to be rebuilt and that the lives of MPs were at risk.

There are 359 suites in the Parliament Lodges, 83 of which are reserved for members of the Senate, while the other 276 are for MNAs.

Dasti asked how liquor finds its way into the parliament lodges and demanded that NA Speaker hold an inquiry into what he said was a “serious” issue.

He also demanded that parliamentarians be “screened” to detect use of alcohol and drugs.

Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq asked Dasti to produce the evidence he claimed to have, and added that if he could not produce such proof, his fate would be determined by members of parliament.

The speaker also observed that the statement might be a stunt to gain media attention, as the complaint could have been registered in chamber. He also clarified that the lodges were equipped with working CCTV cameras and that footage for the last month is available.

The speaker said that if Dasti’s claims are correct, the parliamentarians will be questioned and held accountable.

Taken aback by the revelations, the chairperson of proceedings Naeema Kishore turned off Dasti’s microphone and said that he could have informed the speaker about these details in his chamber along with the evidence supporting his claims instead of saying it at the floor of the house.

A mild protest of a PML-N woman lawmaker didn’t draw the attention of the chair until Raza Hayat Hiraj took the floor and called Dasti’s remarks as “devastating” and an attack on the parliament, the body of elected representatives of the country.

“Dasti didn’t accuse one person but pointed a finger at all the parliamentarians,” he said, demanding that he should produce the evidence and go to a police station to lodge the complaint.

Hiraj implicitly indulged in a personal attack on him when he questioned how Dasti has been running a free bus service in his constituency by pretending to be a poor person. He also demanded that the speech of Dasti be expunged from the NA records.

“Immorality” became the buzzword at the session on Thursday, members of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) pointed out that “immorality” is being aired on TV channels in the shape of foreign content as well as the screening of Indian movies in Pakistani cinemas.

JI’s Ayisha Syed noted that the new generation is being pushed to disaster through immoral and vulgar content being aired through local channels.

PTI’s Ali Mohammad Khan took the floor to condemn the screening of Indian movies in local cinemas and questioned who allows it. He said that if they are permitted legally, then the person responsible for approvals should be punished.

Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha pointed out that there is no law in existence to interpret the word “immorality”.


Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2014.