Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Lower House of Parliament on Monday again witnessed a rumpus, among the parliamentarians of PTI and PML-N and also called PML-N’s Danyal Aziz a ‘stooge’.

The PTI legislators demanded of the government that the Prime Minister should come to the House and clarify his position over his contradictory statement given by him in NA and Supreme Court regarding Panama disclosures. The rumpus in the session started when the speaker allowed PML-N member Danyal Aziz to respond to Sheikh Rashid and Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s speeches. This time the ruling party responded to the shouting of PTI members and it all was done under the supervision of Cap (Retd.) Safdar. It was difficult for the speaker, opposition leader Khurshid Shah, to control the situation. However, after long shouting the opposition (PTI) agreed to listen to Danyal Aziz respond.

Earlier, Awami Muslim League (AML) Sheikh Rasheed addressed the session and said PM Nawaz Sharif made mistakes while addressing the Panama issue, “and a person makes such mistakes only when he is guilty”. Rashid said that the prime minister claimed in parliament that he had proof [of all the business transactions] but his lawyer later told the apex court that they have no evidence of the same.

Addressing the house, the PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi raised the point that the premier had not mentioned the letter of the Qatari prince when as he was presenting his stance on the issue of Panama Papers leaks in the National Assembly. He was of the view that a fresh explanation by Nawaz Sharif had become essential to clear the confusion, being created with emergence of the Qatari prince’s letter. “The PM should come to the House and tell the truth,” he said, adding “it was a matter of the premier’s credibility” and that they (PTI) would be asking repeatedly for clarification “until and unless the prime minister issues one”. “It is necessary for the prime minister to present his clarification, more so after the letter of the prince.”

Federal Minister Khawaja Asif, however, replied to this saying he was also waiting for the day Imran Khan visited the parliament. As the session began late, the questions and answers session was subsequently postponed following a motion presented by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Maryam Aurangzeb. The PTI members protested and raised slogans in the house and said that they would not accept the reply of any government member except Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq reminded the opposition leader of the understanding that government and opposition members would be given equal opportunity to speak.

After the speaker allowed PML-N lawmaker Daniyal Aziz to speak, pandemonium broke out in the PTI benches, with lawmakers protesting the speaker’s decision. Ayaz Sadiq reminded PTI lawmakers it had been decided that first the opposition would speak and then the government would be allowed to respond, but the PTI’s lawmakers continued chanting slogans against the prime minister.

Danial Aziz in his speech targeted PTI chief Imran Khan, saying “Imran knows he has nothing substantial”. Responding to PTI’s criticism he said, “The PTI lawmakers claimed that the prime minister runs businesses in the name of his servants.”

Following continuous disturbance by Mazari during his speech, Danial Aziz taunted her for her advanced years, saying, “For god’s sake please keep quiet, what you are doing? It does not go well with your age.” He further said that he had challenged the documents of ICIJ. He alleged that the founders of ICIJ were all fraudulent journalists and also claimed that ICIJ had only seven permanent employees.

The PTI and PPP submitted privilege motions in the NA claiming that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had misguided lawmakers in a speech regarding his assets delivered earlier this year.