PML-N, PPP trade barbs as former shows teeth

PML-N chants anti-govt slogans in chorus along with desk thumping in National Assembly.

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Monday witnessed probably the worst chaos in its current tenure after a hitherto friendly opposition put up what appeared to be a completely different face in view of its last week’s decision of getting tougher on the government.

It was for the first time since the takeover of the incumbent administration in 2008 that the house heard members from the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chanting anti-government slogans in chorus and backing their ‘hawkish’ leader’s speech with desk thumping.

‘Shame, shame’ and ‘price hike, not acceptable’ were the slogans that were heard in intervals to add more force to the speeches of some of their key leaders. And there were some near clashes when lawmakers from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) hit back at PML-N’s government in Punjab.

Several MPs from the opposition benches intercepted a speech by one of the PPP members when he attacked PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif for his (mis)handling of a veteran party colleague — Javed Hashmi — who recently suffered a brain haemorrhage.

All this happened in the first sitting after an inner circle of the PML-N last Friday decided at a meeting to give up the role of a ‘friendly opposition’ and vowed to go all out against the government. As seen in recent weeks, it was none other than leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan who set the ball rolling with harsh criticism, stating that the government has no prestige and credibility. And this time the issue Nisar had at hands was a recent wave of price hike that he called shocking claiming that the government was totally ignorant of it.

But the operating part of his three-episode speech was when he came up with a veiled threat to the government that it might be losing majority in the parliament to keep itself intact if it couldn’t change its ‘happy-go-merry’ attitude to deal with the national issues.

“Think over it,” Nisar said, turning to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on a seat next to his on the other side of the divide, “Your party with only 124 members can’t take over the country…there are other parties as well.”

“If you can’t make this house effective, we will,” Nisar said in what appeared to be a replica of his last week speech in which he frightened the government with ‘options’ to bring about a political change.

Gilani, who usually doesn’t miss any opportunity to respond to opposition’s criticism in the National Assembly, this time decided to stay away from the blame game and let his PPP colleagues deal with Nisar and other members of the PML-N.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2010.