ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly grew tense on Monday as Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar strongly defended the convictions of opposition PTI lawmakers in the May 9 cases, drawing sharp criticism from the opposition and reigniting partisan tensions.
Tarar, speaking during a session held to honour the late opposition lawmaker Mian Muhammad Azhar of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who died last month, defended the recent sentences handed down to PTI-linked rioters, calling them “fully justified” following trials that spanned 15 months.
The remarks angered lawmakers from PTI, who accused the minister of injecting politics into a session intended to honour Azhar, a veteran politician widely respected across party lines.
Tarar, for his part, remained tight-lipped in the face of the backlash.
“Make up your mind, Minister, but stop playing courtroom cheerleader,” retorted PTI stalwart Latif Khosa, accusing Tarar of turning a memorial session into a partisan stage.
Khosa slammed the minister for “secretly” visiting Azhar’s grieving son, Hammad Azhar, yet refusing to drop what PTI calls a politically motivated case against him.
“How long will politicians keep playing puppets for unelected powers,” he thundered, slamming pro-establishment antics that, according to him, poison the country’s fragile democracy.
Despite the drama, tributes continued to pour in for the late Azhar, a rare unifying figure in the country’s polarised politics.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, with a sombre tone, revealed he had stayed in regular contact with Azhar during his final 16 months.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, usually a PTI critic, called Azhar a “man of principle” who never indulged in dirty politics even after parting ways with PML-N.
“He was the only PTI lawmaker who crossed the aisle to shake hands with us,” Asif added. “That takes guts and grace.”
Former Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf called Azhar “a gentleman in a toxic game,” while MQM’s Farooq Sattar praised his adherence to the now-rare “golden rules of decent politics.”
In an emotional moment, PTI’s Amir Dogar reminded the House of Azhar’s resilience – taking his son’s place in Parliament after Hammad Azhar was barred from the 2024 elections due to 9 May allegations.
But the real gut punch came when Dogar described how Azhar – a septuagenarian statesman – was manhandled by police outside Adiala Jail during a peaceful protest for Imran Khan.
“That image will haunt our democracy,” Dogar said, his voice cracking. “A stain we may never wash off.”
Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the information minister should have refrained from raising the issue of convictions, emphasising that the moment called for moving beyond confrontational politics.
At the same time, he urged PTI lawmakers to reflect on the past, recalling how Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was not permitted to attend his mother’s funeral during Imran Khan’s tenure.
He also paid tribute to the late Mian Muhammad Azhar, noting his personal ties with the deceased.
PTI members like Sherhryar Afridi and Ali Muhammad Khan joined the chorus of praise, united in grief over a political elder who, regardless of party, was seen as a symbol of civility in an increasingly brutal arena.
PTI lawmakers attended the session and placed pictures of the party’s recently disqualified MNAs – including opposition leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, Abdul Latif, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Jamshed Dasti, Zartaj Gul, and Rai Hassan Nawaz – on their seats.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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