Senator S M Zafar is a courageous person. On Thursday he had clarity on his side to articulate the need of the hour. He might have spoken pure poetry, and built up the sequence of events after General Musharraf's taking over administration, of later events, the Legal Framework Order, as well as the reconvening of the Parliament after the general election.
Speaking in calm, measured tones he praised the president, commended the budget, and spoke of the need to guide the country to full democracy. In his view, the time had come for the president to become a bridge between continuity and credibility, and expected a bold decision from the author of 'In the line of fire'.
Without mentioning in many words he suggested that the president should adopt a constitutional course in contesting the next election. He probably meant that the General should shed his uniform before contesting the election, and this action would grant him a permanent place in the country's history.
Senator Zafar also drew attention to the allegation that the voters list lacked transparency because of the entry of false voters. Here was an opportunity to rectify this error, and the duty of all political parties to ensure registration of genuine voters. He placed the nation on notice - a new crop of 40 million young voters were to prove a great potential for the future.
Time had been changed. Pakistan of today was much different from seventies and eighties. We now have a vibrant civil society that could be vigilant in seeing through a fair and free election, which is very essential for flowering of democracy.
On the other hand, Chaudhry Manzur, retold history in verse form about a pregnant woman, who had been reduced to such a bad state that she was willing to sell her unborn child. She and her husband had toiled five years to repay the debt after marrying her first born daughter.
Then Manzur sought answers from the society that could be so cruel and proceeded to ask if the government had done enough to mitigate the sufferings of common citizens. All theories of trickle down effect hawked had been discredited all over the world. China was facing unemployment after adopting this theory.
The MNA from Kasur quoted Bulleh Shah's verses beseeching God give food even to an insect. By the way, a lot of poetry verses were quoted in the hallowed halls of National Assembly and the Senate, by Senator Babar Awan, Senator Malek, Ahmed Hayat Hajra, Chaudhry Manzur Ali, Akbar Vance, Syed Sibtain, Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, and Ghulam Mustafa Shah.
In their case they were justifying the adage that speeches and statements are a form of thinking expressed in verse with minimum of fuss. Some members might have been tempted to brand the speeches as a form of resistance poetry.
Consider, for example, the speech of Senator Babar Awan, who might have expressed a kaleidoscopic dream of a world populated by a kind of people married to 'taqaat ke pujaree ho/kahne ki baaten ho, kahte huey darte ho.'
(People, who worship powers, but they hedged from saying what needed to be said). He touched on criminal neglect of the teaching profession, to those who teach in primary schools, and others lecturing in colleges and at the universities. They had been left out in the cold without any incentive given in the present budget.
According to Hazrat Ali (RA) teachers were like the third parents, after parents, because they handle the job of breeding and preparing a whole generation of youths to saddle responsibilities of the future.
Opposition members Khwaja Asif and Saad Rafiq, Maulana Chitrali assailed the budget. However, Maulana Sheerani delivered the best speech at the National Assembly to highlight the neglect to Balochistan. He quoted a number of Articles of the Constitution to illustrate the ill treatment of his province by the federal government tantamount to violating the supreme law of the land.
Senator Malek brought in the much looked signal (in S M Zafar's view) that it was still time for the federation to sit down with Baloch leaders and thrash out the affairs of his province.
MNA Hajra Tariq from the ruling party quoted 'Khuda kare mere arz pak main/ Hayat tang na ho, zindagee wabal na ho' to inspire faith in the motherland so that it would become a beautiful garden.
Ruling party members Ali Akbar Vance and Syed Sibtain Gulzar, quoted poetry in a vexing tone. They chided the Opposition for upbraiding the budget, although it had many beneficial aspects. A number of pressing issues of electricity outages and utility stores also came up. About the latter issue, Begum Zeb Gauhar Ayub touched on the objection.
Cheaper goods available at the Utility Stores would create competition and reduce the cost of goods in the open market. She also promoted import of gas from Turkmenistan. She motivated the nation to oppose American objections against the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline. This step is essential.
Sporting a sparkling golden tie, and a dark suit, Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain encouraged many women members, from both sides, who were sensible in upholding the budget.
It looked as if the strategy of Treasury benches of this day was to uphold the contribution of President Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Speaker Chaudhry Husain, and also State Finance Minister Omar Ayub for leading the country towards prosperity of which the budget was a reflection. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz came to the House at about 1 pm to join Omar Ayub Khan's lunch in honour of members of the two Houses and also for the media personnel.
Omar Ayub Khan also joined the journalists. Today at the National Assembly Riaz Husain Pirzada presented a unanimous resolution against blowing up the minarets of a revered shrine in Samarra, target of a 2006 bomb attack that unleashed a tidal wave of sectarian violence. The House asked the Iraq government to ward off sectarian divide of the indigenous population over this incident.
Minister Sher Afgan Khan Niazi has filed a new reference against Imran Khan. Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat was seen sitting with Chaudhry Shujaat Husain perhaps discussing new strategies to dispel the disquiet about the budget as expressed in the House. Maulana Amaunullah spoke in the House for the first time in four years. Minority members also demanded the restoration of their funds, which had been denied to them for long.