Daily Times

Slamming the opposition for use of abusive language during President Asif Ali Zardari’s address to parliament a day earlier, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that they are not afraid of “jungle’s monkeys”, adding that his party has a history of fighting dictators.

His remarks came a day after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) lawmakers staged a strong protest and created a ruckus during the maiden joint sitting of parliament after the February 8 general elections.

In response to the “olive branch” extended by President Asif Ali Zardari in his maiden parliamentary address, PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan declared the head of the state “illegal”.

Moreover, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had termed their protest and ruckus in the joint session of parliament a “21-cannon salute” to President Zardari. “We presented a 21-cannon salute to Zardari,” he had said. Addressing a press conference on Friday, Bilawal termed the opposition’s conduct and use of abusive language in the joint session “unparliamentary” behaviour.

President Zardari made history by addressing the parliament as head of the state for the seventh time tomorrow, he said.

In his address, the president tabled a road map to steer the country out of the economic crisis, said the PPP chairman who served as foreign minister in the previous government. Criticising the opposition, the PPP leader said: “Unfortunately, the opposition made its own history.” He also said that they would welcome the opposition’s criticism in the parliamentary sphere.

Backing the National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s disciplinary action against MNAs Jamshed Ahmad Khan Dasti and Muhammad Iqbal Khan, Bilawal said: “It was necessary to set a precedent.”

Earlier in the day, the NA speaker suspended the memberships of the two parliamentarians for the current session due to their use of abusive language during the president’s address. Stressing the need for unity on foreign affairs, the PPP leader said: “Politics is your right but everyone should be united on foreign policy.”