Daily Times

The session of the National Assembly (NA) convened to debate a resolution tabled for expulsion of French ambassador over publication of blasphemous caricatures was adjourned without any debate on Friday due to noisy protest by the opposition.

The proceedings of the Lower House began with Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri in the chair. The opposition lawmakers requested Suri to allow them to speak on a point of order. However, he didn’t consider their request while saying that question hour should be wrapped up first. Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal interrupted and tried to take the floor from the chair. The deputy speaker didn’t consider their request and continued the business. Other opposition members also requested to let Ashraf and Iqbal. The denial of their request annoyed the opposition legislators and they started ruckus by thumping desks besides creating noise in the Lower House. Afterwards, they surrounded the speaker’s dais and started chanting slogans. Some of them also carried placards. As tension escalated, the deputy speaker adjourned the session for an indefinite period.

Although PPP had boycotted the previous National Assembly session, some of their lawmakers attended the proceedings on Friday.

Later, speaking to media outside the Parliament House, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf slammed Suri’s move to adjourn the session, saying that the opposition lawmakers wanted to ask the government about the agreement that was signed with the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) besides holding a debate on the resolution presented during the previous session. “Under which law was the TLP banned and why was the previous agreement (between the government and the outfit) not implemented?” asked the former prime minister.

PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal also lashed out at the deputy speaker for not listening to the opposition members. “The government escaped by adjourning the House after we launched a protest. We wanted to hold a debate on the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat (PBUH) resolution,” he said.

He criticized the PTI regime for curbs on media and the freedom of expression, saying that such practices are going on for a while now. He also condemned the Quetta blast in which five people were killed, saying that the government has failed in protecting the lives of the innocent people. “Terrorism has been rearing its ugly head for the past few months now,” he said. “However, this government’s priority is not to deal with terrorism; rather its priorities are making fake cases against the PML-N,” he said, and demanded that the government continue the National Assembly session instead of adjourning it.

It is pertinent to mention here that a resolution was moved by PTI lawmaker Amjad Ali Khan on behalf of the government which called for protecting the sanctity of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The move followed a week-long violent protests by the banned TLP across country. The proclaimed outfit demanded expulsion of French ambassador from the country over publication of blasphemous caricatures by a French magazine a few months ago.