ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staged a walkout from the Senate on Friday to protest the absence of ministers during the ongoing session, creating disruption and heated debate.
The session, chaired by Deputy Chairman Syedal Khan Nasir, began with visibly empty ministerial benches. Expressing displeasure, he directed the Senate Secretariat to immediately call in at least one or two ministers to address the matter.
Following his orders, ministers arrived in the house, and Senators Waqar Mehdi and Kamil Ali Agha convinced the PTI members to return to the session. However, tensions escalated shortly after.
PTI Senator Shibli Faraz led a second walkout moments after returning. He criticized the government for failing to maintain quorum and said ensuring ministerial presence was the government’s primary responsibility.
Earlier, Faraz had pointed out that not a single minister was present in the upper house. The visibly empty government benches raised serious concerns about the administration’s seriousness toward parliamentary proceedings.
Supporting PTI’s protest, Senator Kamil Ali Agha said the walkout was fully justified. “The lack of ministers in the house is unacceptable,” he stated, adding that such behavior reflects a weak commitment to governance.