ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif again failed to deliver his speech in the National Assembly for the third time — despite being surrounded by sergeants-at-arms — as commotion by lawmakers continued in the house.
Shahbaz Sharif made several attempts to deliver his speech on the federal budget but did not succeed as members from the treasury benches continued to disrupt him, despite NA Speaker Asad Qaiser’s repeated warnings and directives to maintain order in the house.
There were three attempts made by the speaker to conduct proceedings, with the session put into recess twice, before finally being put off for a third time in the day.
The speaker, before putting off the proceedings for the first time, said that the events that had transpired on June 15 were unfortunate and that he would not continue the session until the lawmakers sorted out their differences.
“Action has been taken against lawmakers who had used indecent language in the house on June 15 […] a parliamentary committee will be formed to probe the matter further,” he said.
The committee will comprise of six members each from the treasury and Opposition benches, the speaker announced, before he delayed the session for the first time as lawmakers continued to disrupt Shahhaz’s speech.
After 15 minutes, the session resumed and Shahbaz spoke for a while, slamming Prime Minister Imran Khan for “ordering lawmakers to use indecent language” in the NA.
As he delivered his address, the treasury benches started to hurl abuse at him, with the speaker repeatedly asking them to maintain decorum in the house.
Yesterday’s proceedings in the NA were one of the “darkest days” in Pakistan, Shahbaz said, adding he could not repeat the words that the members from the treasury benches had uttered.
“Mr Speaker, it was your duty to maintain order and prevent such an incident from happening […] even today they haven’t stopped,” he said.
While the PML-N president was speaking, an Opposition member threw a “full bottle” at the treasury benches, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said, adding that it hit and injured Akram Cheema.
The speaker asked the sergeants to show the door to the rowdy member throwing bottles and other missiles towards Shahbaz and postponed the session.
When the session resumed for a second time, the chaos did too.
As it became apparent the uproar has no signs of letting up, the speaker postponed the proceedings for the day.
“We will not resume the session today until we arrive at an understanding on how it is we wish to proceed,” he said.
Meanwhile, The Opposition, earlier in the day according to sources, decided to jointly move a no-confidence motion against NA Speaker Qaiser, after two days of ruckus in the Lower House.
The development came during a meeting of Opposition party leaders in Islamabad, where they decided to form a committee that would draft a plan of action to move the no-confidence motion.
Yesterday’s proceedings in the NA marked the “darkest day for democracy in Pakistan’s history,” the Opposition leaders observed, according to the sources.
“The Speaker has failed to fulfil his constitutional, legal, democratic, and parliamentary responsibilities […] he is the protector of every parliament member, but [he has failed in his duties] and is not qualified to hold office anymore,” they said.
