ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Secretariat spokesperson rejected the allegations levelled by the Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub against Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq regarding questions and calling attention notices of public importance.
The spokesperson clarified that National Assembly Secretariat keeps complete records regarding the submission of questions and calling attention notices by the opposition leader, their responses, and all subsequent proceedings.
Furthermore, the National Assembly Secretariat has already issued a comprehensive response to Leader of Opposition Omar Ayub, providing detailed data regarding question hours and calling attention notices raised during parliamentary sessions.
The spokesperson said that the records of rejected questions and calling attention notices—along with the reasons for their rejection—have also been made public for the sake of transparency.
“As per record, 320 questions submitted by members of treasury benches were not allowed due to non-compliance with parliamentary rules, while 127 questions from opposition members also did not fulfill the criteria laid down in Rules of Procedure. On several occasions, questions from the opposition could not be taken up due to their absence from the House during protests,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that from the 2nd to the 14th parliamentary sessions, Omar Ayub, leader of opposition submitted 36 questions; of these, 16 were selected through ballot. Due to the opposition leader’s absence and protest during proceedings of the House, six questions lapsed, four were responded to, and six were rejected on the grounds of procedural non-compliance, he said.
The spokesperson said that it was also made clear that Omar Ayub submitted seven calling attention notices—two were presented before the House and discussed, while five lapsed.
He said that overall, the opposition submitted 283 calling attention notices, of which, 47 were brought before the House and 26 were discussed. “Due to absence or protest by members, 21 calling attention notices could not be taken up and additionally, 236 questions lapsed under Rule 94,” he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025