In what appeared to be a pre-planned strategy, the treasury benches led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) disrupted on Friday the first day of debate on Federal Budget 2019-20 in the National Assembly through uproar. The sitting of current budget session which started in the morning at around 10:50 after interval of two days when the PTI government presented its maiden federal budget on Tuesday, could not last for long as Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser had to suspend the proceedings for 10 minutes till 2pm due to continued disruption by treasury members.
When the House resumed its sitting at around 2pm in the afternoon with deputy speaker Qasim Suri in the chair, the treasury members mostly in the front row, which is specified for the ministers, again started uproar when leader of Opposition Shahbaz Sharif was given the floor to re-initiate his talk on the budget.
At the same time, lawmakers belonging to Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) also rose from their seats, saying that they wanted to speak on a point of order.
For around 45 minutes, the chair had to repeatedly urge leader of the opposition to initiate the debate amid growing pandemonium, but the latter insisted that the speaker must bring the house in order first and also to allow the MMA's lawmakers to express their views about the alleged blasphemous remarks by the Prime Minister.
But the deputy speaker, while citing the rules of the business of the house, stated that no point of order could be allowed to any member prior to commencement of the debate on the budget.
The chair further asked the leader of the opposition to either initiate the debate or forgo his turn. "I am repeatedly urging you to open the debate as per the rules and I am unable to understand as to why you are not initiating a discussion," the chair asked the opposition leader.
However, the latter responded that he would start his talk only after the house is put in order and the MMA's lawmakers are given the floor to express their views. This continued for a while until Sharif opened the debate and the MMA lawmakers had staged a walkout from the house.
Sharif, in his brief speech, which he made amid repeated interruptions, lambasted the PTI government for what he said damaging the country's economy through its failed economic policies.
"This is the first budget of the PTI's government which came into power through the worst rigged elections in the country's history", Sharif remarked, adding that after presenting two mini budgets in a short span of 10 months, the PTI government had ruined the country's economy and yet it presented country's annual budget.
A fish market like situation in the house forced the deputy speaker to adjourn the proceedings of the House till Monday evening, saying: "As earlier decided in the house business advisory committee, the proceedings of the house would also continue on Saturday. But why don't we take the day off for tomorrow? So, the proceeding of the house is being adjourned till Monday at 4:00 pm," the chair further remarked.
Earlier in the morning, speaking briefly on a point of order, PPP's senior leader and former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf protested that production order of the former president Asif Ali Zardari had not been issued to attend the session.
"Asif Ali Zardari is present in Islamabad at a distance of three minutes. He is a former president of the country and his absence in the important session due to non-issuance of his production orders will not set a good precedent for the future," the former premier remarked. He also urged the PTI members that they must not turn the house into a 'container'.
At the beginning of the proceedings, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari also lodged her protest with the Speaker for providing a dais to leader of the opposition for his speech. "This could be a new tradition as the leader of the opposition has never been provided a dais," she said, adding that it could only be provided to the leader of the house for giving a speech in the house.
The deputy speaker also took notice of some members from opposition benches who were seen making videos of PTI ministers engaged in creating uproar in the house. The chair also instructed security sergeants to confiscate cell phones of those members who violate the set rules.
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