The Backbencher: The man with the worst seat in the House

The facilitator is summoned every time someone needs to pass notes, folders.

While the MPAs rest their posteriors on rather comfortable seats and continue to debate for hours on end, there is one man who probably curses his luck every day. Or at least three times a week when the assembly is in session.

This man has the worst seat in the house. It’s not a corner seat in the back row or the middle seat in one of the front rows. He sits next to the speaker’s secretaries, on the steps leading to the speaker’s chair. Sometimes, when he can manage to sneak in a break, he rests his head on the wooden barriers behind him.

His primary job is to facilitate the members of the house. If someone from the treasury wants to pass on notes to an MPA sitting on the opposition benches, he’s their man. If the speaker’s secretaries want to communicate with the MPAs, they ask him to go and do it. If some folders need to be brought in or kept away, it is usually his responsibility.

On Tuesday, this man had a busy day. He was on his feet as he carried pink files to Murad Ali Shah and Sikandar Mandhro from the secretaries. From the second the morning pleasantries were done with, he was making rounds around the hall.

As the session progressed, the deputy speaker asked MQM’s Muhammad Hussain to move his privilege motion. This motion was similar to the one presented by PTI’s Khurram Sher Zaman in the previous session. Zaman moved a privilege motion in which he pointed out that he had received a letter from the planning and development department chief that the government had approved Rs40 million for each MPA under the Tameer-e-Pakistan Programme for development schemes. The funds are, however, still not with him and government officials claim they don’t have them either.

The MQM picked up the same debate and said it was an embarrassing situation to be in, especially with residents of their constituency came and asked them about what was happening with development schemes in the area.

The deputy speaker seemed like she had had enough and decided to let Zaman present his second privilege motion this week.

The PTI MPA, who usually sulks after MPAs politely refuse to agree with his motions, was upset yet again when he asked the deputy speaker to make it mandatory to start each session with the national anthem.

Many MPAs, including Nusrat Seher Abbasi, Sharmila Faruqi, Sikandar Mandhro and Nisar Khuhro, said that while this was being done with the best of intentions, the national anthem should be reserved for special occasions. These could be the beginning of the fiscal year, budget sessions or at the beginning of new sessions. Zaman, perturbed by the response, mumbled that if the house didn’t want to go ahead with it, they didn’t have to.

An irritated Shehla Raza grew tired of her bickering MPAs and decided to close the matter and move on to hear what MQM’s Khwaja Izharul Hasan wanted to say. Hasan, like other MQM leaders in the assembly, is a great orator. He gave an impassioned speech about how the Pakistan Protection Ordinance was targeting members of his party - and only them. He said they were not against strengthening the forces, just against them misusing the power.

During his anti-PPO speech, the deputy speaker left her seat for 20 minutes and was replaced by the assembly chairperson, Murad Ali Shah. Wearing a beige coloured suit and a snazzy tie, Shah heard what Hasan and MQM’s Bilqees Mukhtar had to say. In his gentle manner, he asked the opposition to say whatever they wanted to say. Before they could do so, however, Raza was standing next to Shah, waiting for him to move. Shah stood up like a gentleman, took off the speaker’s black gown and walked back to his seat.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2014.