ISLAMABAD - Contrary to the expectations that the joint sitting of the parliament would come up with something new to respond to the lingering sit-in, the hawks of major political forces on Wednesday kept mum in the house and passed the buck to little known lawmakers to talk on the prevailing political stalemate.
The joint session of the two houses resumed on Wednesday after it had been adjourned a week back due to the raging floodwaters. But the joint sitting convened for discussing the sit-ins of Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri neither discussed its future action against the political agitation nor informed the house about the devastating flood. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif briefly attended the house and left immediately prompting several federal ministers and ruling party’s lawmakers to disappear who were later observed sipping tea at the Parliament Cafeteria.
Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan in his unprecedented short speech on floor of the house had nothing to narrate except making some lawmakers to laugh by saying that he intended to publish image of Chief Minister KP Pervez Khattak for he was missing from his province.
The interior minister apparently looked depressed and did not talk to Premier Sharif and Federal Minister for Defence Khwaja Asif during his brief stay at the house. On Tuesday, the capital police had filed criminal case against Premier Sharif and some federal ministers under an order by a district and sessions judge.
Nisar instead looked worried about the internally displaced persons (IDPs), security situation and poor governance in KP.
Khursheed Shah, Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Aftab Sherpao, Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Sahibzada Tariqullah and Leader of the Opposition in Senate Aitzaz Ahsan and other seasoned politicians in the joint session refrained from talking anything. The government seemed to be offering nothing to Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) regarding the demands of the two parties seeking resignation of Premier Sharif. But for a while the largely united parliament against Imran Khan and Dr Qadri echoed for support of the two protesting leaders when Senator Nasima Ehsan of Balochistan National Party (Awami) candidly said that the entire political parties except PML-N had acknowledged rigging in last year’s election.
“Now I am sure that Imran Khan talks sense in demanding probe into the election results. I am eyewitness that the biggest ever poll rigging has taken place in Balochistan where the sitting chief minister is also involved in rigging,” Nasima said and stunned lawmakers by showing sympathy with the protesters sitting outside the Parliament House.
The only lawmaker that lambasted Imran Khan came out to be Senator Ilyas Bilour who dared Khan for a debate on live television show drawing applause from the members. But at that time the house was left with only a handful of lawmakers. The corridors of National Assembly seemed to be full of political activities than the hall of the lower house as parliamentary leaders of political forces and federal ministers were observed in holding extensive meetings. Railway Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique chose outside gate of Parliament House for responding to the sit-ins of Imran Khan and Dtr Qadri. The minister while talking to reporters wanted to tell the nation about Imran’s funding source of millions of rupees for entertaining people attending the sit-in for the last many days.
Leader of the Opposition Khurshid Shah left the house after Mehmood Khan Achkazi winked at him. Aftab Sherpao was next to join them followed by JI’s Tariqullah.
 Speaker Ayaz Sadiq was too generous on little-known lawmakers for turning their mikes on to speak. Earlier, PPP Senator Saeed Ghani had electrified the house by what he termed the ‘questionable silence’ of khakhis (army) for not stopping the protesters from storming the building of state-run television.