Tag: Speaker National Assembly

  • ‘DIG operations pointed a gun at me,’ says Sher Afzal Marwat

    ‘DIG operations pointed a gun at me,’ says Sher Afzal Marwat

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers who were released after their arrests following the September 8 rally have shared their ordeal with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

    Leader PTI Sher Afzal Khan Marwat has revealed that the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) operations threatened him with dire consequences while pointing his 9mm gun at him.

    Marwat alleged that the same treatment had been given to the country’s bigwigs, including Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Advisor Prime Minister for Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, and Saad Rafiq.

    Opposition Leader NA Omer Ayub Khan said that parliament was humiliated on Tuesday following the arrest of Members of the National Assembly (MNA) from parliament premises.

    Responding to a First Information Report (FIR) lodged against lawmakers on the pretext of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) violation in the Sagjani rally, he clarified that PTI’s rally was delayed due to roads blockage.

  • Speaker suspends five security officials after PTI lawmakers arrested from parliament

    Speaker suspends five security officials after PTI lawmakers arrested from parliament

    Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has suspended five security officers for four months after the arrest of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers from parliament premises.

    The National Assembly Secretariat issued an order of suspension of the officials, including Sergeant-at-Arms (BPS-20) Muhammad Ishfaq Ashraf.

    The order read, “During the period of his suspension, he will be entitled to draw pay and allowances as admissible under the applicable rules.”

    In a joint parliament session today, Sadiq ordered an immediate and thorough investigation into the arrest of Members of the National Assembly (MNA).

    During the meeting, Sadiq stated that no compromise would be tolerated on the dignity and prestige of the parliament.

    On Tuesday at midnight 3 AM, plain clothes men entered the parliament, cut the electricity, and arrested at least six PTI’s legislators.

  • President Zardari will address joint Parliament session today

    President Zardari will address joint Parliament session today

    The joint session of the two houses of Parliament will be held today in Parliament House under the presidency of Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq.

    President Asif Ali Zardari will address the parliament today at 4 pm. All arrangements have been made for what will be the first joint session of Parliament after the formation of the 16th National Assembly.

    The President of the State called the joint session of the Parliament to exercise the powers conferred under Articles 54(1) and 56(3) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

  • NA continues hasty legislation despite outrage

    NA continues hasty legislation despite outrage

    According to the report filed by Amir Wasim in Dawn, the National Assembly (NA) approved 12 more bills on Wednesday.

    Along with debates over legislation, the NA saw a verbal altercation between Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf and South Waziristan MNA Ali Wazir when the legislator accused Pakistan’s intelligence agencies of “installing” the Taliban government in neighboring Afghanistan and demanded that those responsible for bringing the Taliban back to Pakistan be held accountable.

    The angry speaker warned the MNA not to talk about sensitive matters related to Pakistan’s security forces, and then switched off the mic for Ali Wazir, declaring his words “anti-Pakistan”.

    During the passage of the bills, members of different allied parties in the coalition government complained that the PML-N didn’t take them into confidence in the matter of the bills.

    Some members were also concerned about a bill passing amendments to the Secrets Act, granting powers to intelligence agencies to raid and detain common citizens without warrants.

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Agha Hassan Baloch has also said that BNP-M doesn’t want to be part of this hasty legislation. PPP lawmaker Shahida Rehmani and JUI-F’s Aliya Kamran were also against the passage of the bill.

  • ‘Judges and generals can’t take decisions behind closed doors’: Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘Judges and generals can’t take decisions behind closed doors’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry criticised the Supreme Court’s detailed judgement given yesterday in a suo motu case on the ruling by former National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri under Article 5 of the Constitution. 

    “The people should be given the right to make decisions. Judges and generals can’t change their policies every day. They can’t take decisions behind closed doors.”

    Fawad said that Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has the sealed cipher in his office. “Senior judges should ask the CJP why it was not shown to them,” said Fawad. 

    He further claimed that a letter from President Alvi is also with the Supreme Court suggesting the formation of a commission to investigate the matter. However, the court had not responded to Alvi’s letter.

    “Rather than forming a commission to properly investigate the matter, the Supreme Court has given its verdict without even reading the material that was given to it. Moreover, the timing of the ruling is self-explanatory.” 

    The PTI leader asked if the Supreme Court could issue the detailed judgement after three months, why did it not delay it a bit longer. He alleged that it was purposefully done in the wake of the upcoming by-elections in Punjab.

    Moreover, the PTI leader claimed that people are aware of why the SC “did not want to investigate the cipher”. Chaudhry was of the view that the top court “should read the cipher before penning the judgment”.

    He challenged the decision saying that when PTI comes back into power, it will quash the order through Parliament.

    Commenting on Mazhar Alam Miankhel’s additional note which said “if we begin to pursue cases under article 6, we will find there are more people to hang than there are nooses”.

    If I get permission, will get Imran Khan arrested: Rana Sanuallah

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that President Dr Arif Alvi should resign and that if he gets permission from the cabinet to file a case against Imran Khan, he [Khan] will be arrested.

    Rana Sanaullah said that the matter of reference against former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, President Alvi, former Deputy Speaker Suri will be considered in the cabinet tomorrow. Sanaullah said that Khan “can go to any level for his personal interests”.

    He claimed that PTI is still receiving salaries from the National Assembly and they are still using government vehicles. He urged that they should be de-seated and disqualified.

    Replying to a question, Rana Sanaullah said that Sheikh Rasheed was supposed to be arrested during the long march but he could not be found as he was in hiding.

    PM Shehbaz’s reaction

    Following the judgement, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif said that everyone should read the judgement. In a tweet, the preimer said, “Honourable Supreme Court’s detailed judgement on Vote of No Confidence exposes the lies and propaganda indulged in by Imran Khan and Co. utterly shameful how IK tried to undermine the Constitution and manufactured the lie of regime change.”

    PTI failed to produce any evidence to support claim of foreign conspiracy: Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court issued a detailed judgement on Wednesday (July 13) in a suo motu case on the ruling by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly under Article 5 of the Constitution.

    The court has said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) failed to “produce any evidence” before the court to support their claim of interference by a foreign force in the ousting of former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion.

    In the judgement, the apex court revealed that the cipher was not even shown to it although its contents “were partially disclosed in the detailed reasons issued in support of the deputy speaker’s ruling”.

    On April 7, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court had declared Qasim Suri’s ruling on the dismissal of no-confidence motion against Imran Khan as unconstitutional and illegal. The bench unanimously ruled that President Dr Arif Alvi’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly is “illegal” and restored Imran Khan as Prime Minister as well as his cabinet ministers to face the no-confidence motion on April 9.

    No evidence

    The Supreme Court said that it rejected PTI’s plea to take suo motu action over the ‘breach of sovereignty’ allegation, citing “no precedence, absence of evidence and lack of jurisdiction”.

     Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial observed that the action by the deputy speaker triggered a chain of events.

    Moreover, the SC noted that neither the Constitution nor the NA procedure rules have given the power to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker to dismiss a no-trust resolution “for being inadmissible or non-maintainable”.

    The judgement said, “It was a unilateral decision taken by the Deputy Speaker at the behest of the Law Minister.”

    High treason for President Alvi, Khan and others?

    Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel stressed in his additional note that there must be consequences for President Alvi, ex-PM Imran, former Speaker Asad Qaiser, former Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri and former Law Minister Fawad Chaudhry because they prevented the elected representatives of the people “from voting on the resolution” and therefore it was a “blatant transgression of the Constitution”.

    “Whether the stated acts attract Article 6 of the Constitution is also left open to be determined by the Parliamentarians as to whether they leave open the doors for such unconstitutional acts or take suitable measures to stop such like mess in future,” Justice Miankhel suggested.

    Article 6 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan states, “Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.”

    Suri was biased

    Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel observed in his additional note that the action of the Deputy Speaker was biased. He said that if at the time it was permitted to hold fresh elections, it would amount to giving license to an authority to misuse the extraordinary power of the doctrine of necessity.

  • Bilawal in Parliament says not expected from a player like Imran Khan to impose taxes on condoms

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari during his speech in the National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday lamented how the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has imposed taxes on the people of Pakistan.

    Talking about a list of items on which the government-imposed taxes, Bilawal said that the people of Pakistan are in pain. He said, “It is always said [by the goverment] that Pakistan does not have inflation, this is not based on reality. If you see the statistic, Pakistan has the most inflation as compared to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and India.”

    Asking for the Speaker’s attention, Bilawal said, “Speaker Sahib, tax on contraceptives has been imposed as well.”

    “It was not expected from a khiladi [player] like [Prime Minister (PM)] Imran Khan to impose a tax on contraceptives as well,” said Bilawal.

    “Sir, contraceptives are not a laughing matter. There is a population explosion in regions of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. You [PM Khan] are not even providing basic needs to the [people] in terms of food, sufficient jobs, education, and health. The entire world is supporting this sector and you are imposing a tax on contraceptives,” said Bilawal.

    The PPP chairman further said, “There is a crisis of HIV and AIDS, which is not being informed to the people. This a very serious matter.”

    “Through this mini-budget, by imposing a tax on contraceptives, you have proved to the nation that Imran Khan Sahib has imposed a tax on everything and did not leave [contraceptives] out of it. Khan Sahib is imposing a tax on an infant’s food, milk this is a direct hit on the weakest class in our society. You [Imran Khan] have literally snatched food from a child’s mouth.”

    “You are damaging women’s empowerment. You are damaging the right of choice and independence of women,” said the PPP leader.

    “Both your [Imran Khan] decisions [to impose a tax on contraceptives and milk, food products of infants] will have historic damage,” said Bilawal Bhutto.

    However, it is pertinent to mention here that the most common contraceptives that are available in the market which are being taxed are condoms.

  • ‘Evil and vicious machine,’ and ‘respect your own chair, position’: Opp and govt come face to face

    ‘Evil and vicious machine,’ and ‘respect your own chair, position’: Opp and govt come face to face

    The government on Wednesday managed to bulldoze amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, in the joint session of parliament, allowing the use of electronic voting machines and granting voting rights to overseas Pakistanis.

    Shehbaz Sharif: “Electronic voting machines should be called evil and vicious machines.”

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif termed electronic voting machines (EVMs) “evil and vicious machines” and accused the government of not being sincere in creating a consensus on electoral reforms in the joint session.

    Stating that the government was bulldozing important bills, he said that it was “illegal” and that it was equivalent to spoiling the traditions of the house.

    “You [Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser] sent a letter to me and the whole joint Opposition,” he said, adding that in response he submitted a comprehensive answer with “great suggestions”. “But you cancelled your contact and we received no answer from you.”

    “This is the first time in history that there are allegations of rigging before the elections.”

    Shehbaz said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which is responsible for carrying out fair and transparent elections, had also expressed its reservations about EVMs. “They [govt] want to pass these laws despite their [ECP] reservations.”

    He said that the party that had once talked about democracy, transparency, and change, now wanted to pass “black laws”.

    “If you allow this black law to be passed, then Pakistan will be severely damaged for which responsibility will be on you and them,” he said while addressing Qaiser.

    “If the government used the energy that it is spending on this issue to tackle inflation, then we might have seen a difference. But they are not concerned. They are only concerned with remaining in power without securing the people’s vote.”

    In response to the Leader of the Opposition, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi presented from the government’s side.

    Shah Mahmood Qureshi: “Govt wants to wash away blackness of past.”

    “Shehbaz said that the government wanted to introduce a black law. Absolutely not, the government wants to wash away the blackness of the past,” said Qureshi.

    Qureshi rejected the notion that the government had previously cancelled the joint session because it did not have majority support said, “If we didn’t have the numbers, then how are we presenting these bills today? There is solidarity in government ranks and our allies are standing with us.”

    “You call EVMs ‘evil and vicious machines’ and that is your right. But EVMs are not evil and vicious machines, they are being introduced to bury evil and vicious designs.”

    Following Qureshi’s address, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was asked to deliver his speech.

    Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari: “[Speaker AsadQaiser] Respect your own chair, position.”

    Addressing the Speaker Asad Qaiser, PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto requested him to “respect his own chair”, “respect his own position” and “respect the House”.

    Bilawal criticised the government’s “one-sided” electoral reforms which have never been witnessed in the country’s history.

    Referring to the government of former PM Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal said: “If that government had unilaterally decided and used the majority to force reforms, then the PTI and the PPP would not have been able to do anything.”

    “If they had decided to introduce a constitutional amendment, then we would have to accept their decision. But they achieved a consensus,” he said.

    “If we were all legislating together, the next election would have been transparent,” Bilawal said.

    “If we carried out reforms together then the next election would not be controversial and it would have been Khan Sahab’s success.”

    He said the government is making the next election controversial and gave an ultimatum that they will not accept the next election if the bill for EVMs is passed.

    Bilawal said they will stand by the ECP. “As long as the ECP has reservations, we have reservations,” Bilawal said.

    “How can we accept your suggestion where Pakistanis sitting in Paris, California and Britain decide for the people of Karachi and the tribal areas? They should have their own electoral college.”

    Bilawal further said that the government had given a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

    “If you have to give relief to anyone then it should be the poor people of Pakistan who are facing a multitude of problems […] how can you expect that we will permit you to use this House to give an NRO to that Indian spy?”

  • Asad Qaiser states press gallery closed in consultation with journalists, journalists deny

    Asad Qaiser states press gallery closed in consultation with journalists, journalists deny

    National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser said that he closed the doors of the press gallery during President Arif Alvi’s speech to a joint session of parliament after getting ‘reports’ that there was a possibility of a ruckus between two journalists’ groups.

    The speaker while speaking to journalists, claimed that he made this decision after consulting the Parliamentary Reporters Association (PRA).

    “I couldn’t afford a fight between two groups in Parliament which could have resulted in the disrespect of media and the House,” Qaiser said adding, “however, there was some misunderstanding.”

    After Qaiser’s claims, the PRA categorically denied the speaker’s statement and challenged him to name the journalists who met him as PRA representatives, reported Dawn.

    “PRA delegation has not met the Speaker National Assembly nor has the PRA been taken into confidence over the closure of the Press Gallery,” says the statement issued by PRA’s information secretary Malik Saeed Awan.

    “PRA delegation has not met the Speaker National Assembly nor has the PRA been taken into confidence over the closure of the Press Gallery,” says the statement issued by PRA’s information secretary Malik Saeed Awan.

    “PRA strongly condemns this black lie of the Speaker”. Awan demanded an inquiry to determine which delegation met with and misrepresented the journalist organisation.

    In a first in Pakistan’s history, reporters were not allowed to enter a joint session of Parliament on Monday, September 13.

    Parliamentary reporters were to be present in the press gallery for the president’s address but entered the hallway to find that the door was locked. The press gallery was closed for the journalists.

    PRA strongly condemned the closure of the press gallery and said, “Closing the gallery is the worst dictatorship.”

    Pakistani journalists protested in front of the Parliament House against the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), which aims to muzzle media freedom. The protest started on Sunday, September 12, Journalists marched from the National Press Club to the Parliament House and stayed overnight.

  • Send domestic violence bill to Islamic council, suggests PM’s aide

    Send domestic violence bill to Islamic council, suggests PM’s aide

    Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan has written a letter to Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser suggesting that the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill 2021 should be sent to the Council of Islamic Ideology to check if the proposed law is or is not “repugnant to the Injunctions of Islam”.

    Journalist Ansar Abbasi shared the news on Twitter and congratulated Prime Minister Imran Khan for this step.

    Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Naya Pakistan’, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari had asked, “Can someone tell me which clause in the bill is against our religion?”

    “This law is not only for women but men can also file a case using it,” Mazari added.

    Senate passed two key government bills related to human rights last month, which include the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill 2021 and the Islamabad Capital Territory Senior Citizens Bill 2021.

    Analyst Ansar Abbasi took to his Twitter account to oppose the bill.

  • In-camera briefing for lawmakers on Afghanistan, national security

    In-camera briefing for lawmakers on Afghanistan, national security

    Speaker National Assembly (NA) Asad Qaiser has summoned a session of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security on July 1 at 3pm for a briefing on the latest regional situation in light of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

    Speaker Asad Qaiser will chair the in-camera meeting. The meeting will discuss the situation in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Leader of the Opposition in NA Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and other lawmakers will attend the meeting. Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Defence Minister Pervez Khattak will also be part of the in-camera meeting from the government’s side. Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani will also attend the meeting as well as other parliamentarians.

    Bilawal Bhutto tweeted that he had demanded on the floor of the house that the parliament be briefed on the Afghanistan situation by the relevant departments and institutions. “We welcome Speakers decision and will participate in NSC committee meeting on the topic.”