The National Assembly of Pakistan descended into chaos on Tuesday as legislators from the treasury and opposition hurled objects and abuses after opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif gave his speech on the federal budget for 2021-2022 presented by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin.
The Dawn reported that the opposition leaders had expressed discontent with the budget. Shehbaz Sharif raised questions about the government’s promises to ensure jobs, fight corruption, and provide relief from the rising inflation rate, resulting in the pandemonium that caused the speaker to suspend the assembly thrice.
Due to the unprecedented unrest, the National Assembly Secretariat called for sergeants-at-arms to come in and de-escalate the situation. The incident also resulted in Pakistan Tehreek-i-insaf (PTI) leader Maleka Bokhari requiring medical treatment.
Several opposition leaders criticising Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s PTI following the incident. Shehbaz Sharif said, “Today, the whole nation saw on their TV screens how the ruling party resorted to hooliganism and even naked abuse. It only shows how ethically shallow Imran Khan and his whole party are and how PTI has turned into a fascist and abusive party. Unfortunate!” Marriyum Aurangzeb, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), also blamed PM Khan for the incident. She said, “This is the reality of the ‘Naya Pakistan’ Imran Khan has created. This is a reflection of his fascist mindset… He will leave no stone unturned to paralyse [the] parliament and weaken democracy. Throwing budget books at the opposition. This is Imran Khan’s ‘Riyaasat-e-Madina’.”
On the other hand, the PTI members blamed opposition leaders for the chaos. Party leader Ali Awan said that while it was a video of him hurling abuses that had gone viral, it was the opposition leaders from PML-N that had “resorted to swearing first.” Likewise, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the PML-N had instigated the tussle and shunned “all parliamentary values.”
Similar scenes of chaos were seen in the National Assembly on Monday, when members of the treasury restricted opposition members from debating the budget by providing a “written guarantee” that the leaders would silently hear the speeches of PM Khan and his ministers. Several members of the treasury, including Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, started interrupting the opposition leaders. Consequently, the session was adjourned.
In March, Imran Khan called for a vote of confidence following the PTI’s defeat in the country’s Senate, the upper house of the Parliament. Nevertheless, Khan emerged victorious in the test. However, the 10-party opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), said it would boycott the trust vote and call for a fresh election. The opposition leaders have maintained that the premier no longer has the trust of the people. In September last year, the PDM was announced to organise nationwide demonstrations against the incumbent party to protest the growing military influence on the functioning of the government. The current tussle comes as another blow to political stability in Pakistan and highlights the rising opposition to the ruling government.
Pakistani Parliament Adjourned After Chaos Erupts Over Imran Khan’s Budget Proposal
Opposition leaders of the Pakistani National Assembly lashed out against PM Imran Khan’s budget proposal over its failure to address rising unemployment and inflation.
June 16, 2021
SOURCE: YAHOO NEWS