At loggerheads: PTI, JUI-F discord marring assembly proceedings

Though the two parties have always been at each other’s throats, the schism seems to have widened of late.

PESHAWAR:

The war of words between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has begun to take its toll on the proceedings of the provincial legislative assembly.

Ideological differences, deepened by fiery political statements, have overpowered the sessions of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly. During the ongoing session, which was adjourned on Monday until January 2, the tussle led to two boycotts of proceedings and a walkout by the joint opposition under the leadership of JUI-F lawmaker Maulana Lutfur Rehman. The hue and cry was over the registration of cases against JUI-F members in Kohat and Karak on November 30 under the Anti-terrorism Act (ATA).



The walkout took place when Minister for Information Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani mentioned the killing of a PTI worker in Faisalabad. Rehman concurred with Ghani and expressed grief over the murder while saying that peaceful protests are a democratic right of every political party. He, however, criticised the K-P government for obstructing JUI-F’s protests over the fatal attack on their leader in Sukkur, Sindh. After mentioning the registration of cases in Kohat and Karak, the opposition leader stormed out of the session, followed by other opposition members.

Speaker Asad Qaiser was in no mood for reconciliation and instead called it a day. The previous two boycotts were also a result of the PTI, JUI-F tiff.

Earlier on December 1, opposition members were outraged with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak blaming JUI-F for disrupting PTI protests. Rehman spared no chance to flay the treasury for comments that Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) lawmaker Ansia Zeb Tahirkheli too called “nonsensical”. They walked out of the session and despite attempts to reconcile, refused to return.

Similar tactics

JUI-F’s antics are in fact an impression of how PTI reacted to Rehman’s comments on October 30. Rehman’s remarks about women dancing in PTI gatherings led to swords being brandished on both sides. Some lawmakers got to the verge of throwing punches in order to settle the score. When the session resumed on November 10, opposition members were unwilling to cooperate for the sake of the proceedings.

Also, the recently adjourned session led to the longest break during the ongoing parliamentary year. The session had originally started on October 24 following a four-month break after the budget session.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2014.