ISLAMABAD: The opposition's protest over the arrest of the unconditional of the Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP) Syed Khursheed Shah spoiled the procedures of the National Assembly on Thursday and the session was extended sine die without any business being conducted. The protest began shortly after Vice President Qasim Suri told the house that the National Office of Responsibility (NAB) had informed him about Shah's arrest on corruption charges.
Wearing black bracelets and raising slogans of "shame, shame," opposition members questioned the arrest of the PPP leader "on the basis of a mere complaint." They said that the NA speaker had not been informed about the arrest before it happened.
Former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said Shah would not go anywhere and would have responded if they had sent him a questionnaire. The former prime minister said first that a case should be investigated and then the arrest should be made only based on the evidence.
He said parliamentarians had been arrested to humiliate them and asked the president to read any details about the arrest if they had been shared by the NAB president.
The minister says the arrest has been carried out by NAB and not by the government
Ashraf also urged the presidency to give Khursheed Shah a chance to respond to accusations against him in parliament, and threatened a withdrawal if it was not done.
He said Asad Qaisar was at a conference when Mr. Shah was arrested and the NA speaker said the arrest was not known to him. "Has the parliament weakened so much that it cannot defend its members," Ashraf asked.
"The government says that businessmen and bureaucrats will not be arrested [by NAB]. Are these arrests only for legislators? ", Said. "Nobody is stopping the investigations of the institutions, but arrests without evidence are unacceptable."
Ashraf was still talking when his microphone went off and the vice president said he would now run the house under the rules. However, he changed the microphone by following the clamor of the opposition members.
Ashraf asked the president to summon NAB officials and ask them to present evidence of the charges against Shah.
The leader of the Pakistan-Nawaz Muslim League fire brand, Khawaja Asif, said any assault on the rights of a member of the house must be collectively resisted. He commended Mr. Shah for "improving the prestige and dignity of the house" in the last three decades.
"God forbid, if it happens to you tomorrow, we will also defend you," Asif told lawmakers sitting on treasure banks.
"The damage is caused to democracy when we become tools in the hands of others against our own colleagues in parliament," he said.
He also made fun of the vice president saying that "his loyalties cannot prevail over our oath." Suri responded that he was also under oath and that no one should doubt his loyalty, adding that all the members on both sides of the hall were equal to his eyes.
Nawab Yusuf Talpur of the PPP said that the way Mr. Shah had been arrested was very questionable. People entered his house in Islamabad, climbing walls and the door to the room where he slept had been shattered.
Communication Minister Murad Saeed rebuked the opposition for wearing black bracelets. "I thought it was a late protest over Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir," he said. "But the opposition is trying to score points and politicize everything."
He said the arrest had been made by the NAB and not by the government and recalled that the president of the NAB had been appointed by the PML-N and the PPP with mutual consultations.
"If someone has assets beyond the media, they have some explanations to make," Saeed argued.
He said the cases against Khursheed Shah were also initiated during the mandate of the previous PML-N government.
The opposition wanted more debate on the issue, while responding to Saeed's comments, but the vice president announced the start of question time. Most opposition members were left out under a strategy and Dr. Samina Matloob of the PML-N said the quorum.
After ringing the quorum bells and counting, the house was not found in order and the attached speaker read the extension order.
Before a session of the National Assembly, dozens of opposition members organized a protest in front of the House of Parliament to protest the non-issuance of production orders for several imprisoned politicians.
Opposition leaders protesting in the field included Khawaja Asif of PML-N, Ayaz Sadiq, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Rana Tanveer and Marriyum Aurangzeb and Naveed Qamar, Shazia Marri and Shahida Rehmani of the PPP.
Photographs of the arrested leader, including former President Asif Ali Zardari, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Rana Sanaullah, were displayed at the protest camp. Signs calling for the release of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter and PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz were also displayed.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Asif alleged that the speaker of the National Assembly was violating the constitution and his oath by denying production orders to jailed opposition members and, therefore, "usurping his right" to represent to your constituents
He said parliament was not subordinate to the law ministry or the executive.
“Parliament gives birth to the executive; It does not take dictation from it. This august house is the father of all institutions, even the judges of the superior courts cannot take an oath without the confirmation of parliament, ”he said.
The PML-N leader said the speaker's actions, which were contradictory to these truths, were undermining the authority of the house. "It seems that the speaker's loyalty to his party has nullified his commitment to his oath to defend the supremacy of parliament and honor the constitution," said Asif.
"There can be no more brutal attack against parliament than the violation of the constitution and the oath to please and appease political leaders," he emphasized.
Posted on Dawn, September 20, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1506252/opposition-rage-over-khursheed-shahs-arrest-mars-na-session