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ISLAMABAD, (MANEND NEWS): The National Assembly session on
Wednesday became heated after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah
Mahmood Qureshi engaged in a fiery debate ahead of Prime Minister
Imran Khan’s expected speech.
In his speech, Bilawal Bhutto claimed that the government “rigged”
Tuesday’s vote on the federal budget. The PPP chairman said that
according to the rules, the NA speaker was obligated to carry out a
count when a voice vote was challenged and it was not a matter of his
“choice”.
He said the final vote on the budget was what really mattered and that
some treasury members had exhibited “irresponsible behaviour” at the
time, lamenting the fact that members from the opposition benches
were also missing.
“If you had carried out the count, we would’ve at least brought our
stance on record. I stood up at the time of the last vote and
challenged your ruling, but you stood up and left,” Bilawal said,
addressing National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser. As a result, the
budget’s legitimacy was undermined, he said.
“Is it not rigging if we can’t record our vote during the budget debate
or during the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) debate. Is this not
against the rules,” he questioned.
Taking a dig at Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Bhutto said that an
“unelected member” kept rejecting the Opposition’s amendments.
“According to Rule 276, if there is a voice vote challenge, you have to
count it,” said Bhutto.
Bhutto told the speaker that he challenged the vote during the last
phase of the legislation but “you did not listen to me”.
“What else is it, if not rigging?” the PPP leader asked before concluding
his speech, leaving and then returning when the foreign minister
challenged him to come back.
Responding to Bilawal, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi lashed
out at the PPP chairman for leveling allegations of violating
parliamentary tradition. “What are you talking about? In Sindh, where
you have the government, you did not allow the opposition leader to
speak,” he said.
He stated that the speaker is the custodian of the house and his
character had been “targeted” by the opposition. “You can have
reservations about the speaker’s decision, but you take it up in his
chamber. You don’t confront them on the floor of the house,” he said.
He said that the charter of diplomacy states that the chairmanship of
the provincial Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is given to the
opposition. “Have you done that? Have you given the opposition
representation in the provincial standing committees? What
parliamentary tradition are you talking about?”
The minister also questioned the basis on which Bilawal had challenged
the legitimacy of the budget. “In Sindh, the opposition is not being
allowed to speak,” he said, referring to the barring of at least eight
opposition lawmakers from the Sindh Assembly.
In comparison, the opposition is being given more time in the National
Assembly, he said. He also questioned the absence of Leader of the
Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif during Tuesday’s
session.
“The leader of the opposition wasn’t present during the debate on the
finance bill while 25 PML-N members were missing,” he said. He stated
that the opposition would not be able to suppress the government by
making noise, holding the former responsible for spoiling the
atmosphere of the lower house.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said a meeting of the Parliamentary
Committee on National Security will be held in Islamabad today
(Thursday) to discuss Afghan situation.
He said important leaders of the opposition parties and leaders of the
parliamentary parties have been invited to attend the meeting. He said
that the leaders will be taken into confidence with regards to recent
developments in Afghanistan and the national security. He said the
opposition parties were also invited to the foreign office where they
were briefed about Pakistan’s viewpoint on the Afghan situation.
The Foreign Minister strongly criticized the opposition members for
targeting the personality of the speaker. He said the speaker is the
custodian of the house and targeting him is contrary to rules and
procedures.
In response to the foreign minister, Bilawal said that Qureshi was
criticising the party which had made him the foreign minister and the
president of the party’s Punjab chapter. “I have heard him say jiye
Bhutto and agli bari, phir Zardari to protect his ministry,” he said. He
also questioned his role as foreign minister, holding him responsible
for being involved in making alleged deals on Kashmir.
“When the United States is withdrawing from Afghanistan, he should
be focusing on arranging a phone call with President Joe Biden due to
Pakistan’s strategic importance. It is a matter of shame that our
premier doesn’t even get a phone call,” he said.
He said that the Sindh assembly speaker had banned opposition
lawmakers for creating a ruckus. “The Pakistan resolution was passed
from the Sindh Assembly,” he said, adding that the opposition had not
presented a single cut motion during provincial budget proceedings.
“This shows you their seriousness.”
“The prime minister should tell the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to
tap Qureshi’s phone. When he was the foreign minister during the
PPP’s government, he used to campaign in the world asking to make
him premier instead of Yousuf Raza Gilani,” he said.
Responding to the concerns raised by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other
opposition members, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser said the
house passed the finance bill 2021 yesterday as per the rules and
procedures.
He said 244 members from opposition and treasury benches
participated in the general discussion on the budget. He said the
record time of almost ninety three hours was given to the budget
which shows seriousness of the members of parliament towards
parliamentary oversight and their constitutional responsibility in this
regard.