Angry lawmakers: Pandemonium in assembly over resolution

Opposition member hit in heated sloganeering.

LAHORE:

Treasury members in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday stopped the opposition from presenting a resolution and later a few female parliamentarians slapped and pushed opposition members outside the assembly.

Wednesday’s proceedings of the eighth session resumed one-and-a-half hour late.

Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan presided over the session.

After the question hour on the Cooperatives Department, Opposition Leader Mian Mehmoodur Rashid asked the speaker to allow him to speak because he had a resolution to present.

Rashid, speaking on a point of order, said the house condemned the negative attitude of the Indian government with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

He said all political parties in Pakistan had supported Sharif’s visit to India but had not expected that he would receive a “show cause notice”. He said India was still insisting on old issues, like terrorism. He said that the resolution aimed to condemn the attitude of the Indian government.

The speaker said this was a national issue and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s leadership in the National Assembly should discuss the matter there. He did not allow the presentation of the resolution.

Opposition members gathered around the speaker’s rostrum and chanted slogans against friendship with India and called for liberation of Kashmir from Indian rule.

The speaker allowed the treasury benches to present two resolutions.

The first resolution was about Youm-e-Takbeer. According to the resolution, the house appreciated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the successful nuclear tests on May 28.

The second resolution urged the government to declare the birthday of Guru Nanak a national holiday.

The speaker prorogued the session for an indefinite period.

Protest outside the assembly

Opposition members then staged a protest outside the assembly. They chanted slogans against the government and the speaker.

While they were protesting, treasury members led by Zaibun Nisa and Salma Shaheen Butt gathered there and quarrelled with them. Zaibun Nisa then pushed Rashid towards the dice and attacked other members who tried to rescue Rashid from her.

Then, after some heated arguments, Salma Butt slapped PTI’s Asif Mehmood. She was preparing to slap him again but PTI’s Mian Aslam Iqbal intervened.

PML-N’s MPA Mian Manshaullah Butt then asked the opposition members to leave.

Later, talking to journalists, Rashid said the speaker had allowed discussions condemning the national institutions but would not allow resolutions against India.

PPP’s Khurram Jahangir asked the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the attitude of members of the treasury benches.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2014.