ISLAMABAD - The Senate on Wednesday witnessed uproar after the opposition led by PPP severely protested over the “indecent” remarks of Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur about their leadership during his election campaign in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). 

Following a noisy protest in the House, the opposition gathered in front of the main dais of Chairman Senate after Leader of the House Dr Shahzad Waseem also gave a harsh response to the speeches of lawmakers of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). This compelled Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani to issue warning to the members not to do so in future to “avoid any clash” and use their right to protest while sitting in their respective seats reserved for them in the House. 

Soon after the question hour session, PPP lawmakers were the first ones who launched the protest against the remarks of federal minister for calling their party founder and former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto a “traitor” in his public rally in AJK. The PML-N also protested over the remarks of the minister against their leadership including ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz uttered in the same rally. 

A day earlier at an election rally in AJK, Gandapur had called Bhutto a “traitor” saying he got disintegrated the country into two parts only to become prime minister and also called Nawaz Sharif a “thief”. He had also criticised Maryam Nawaz in the same breath. 

Sanjrani warns members to avoid any clash in future and use right to protest while sitting in their respective seats

PPP leader and Senator Moula Bux Chandio at first raised the issue and said that an “abusive minister of this abusive government” has talked against Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and they protest over his remarks. “They are paving the way for a new confrontation,” he added. 

With this, the opposition members rose from their seats. PPP Parliamentary Leader in the House Senator Sherry Rehman said that how Gandapur dared to say that Bhutto was a traitor. “This is totally wrong and unacceptable,” she said adding that there was a limit to use the abusive language. She said that Bhutto was the one who got repatriated their 90,000 imprisoned soldiers from India. She said that he never compromised when it came to Pakistan whether it was US threating him or someone else. She asked who they are to give certificates of traitors and asked if Bhutto was a traitor only because he gave the nuclear programme to the country? 

The PML-N Parliamentary Leader in the House Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar also criticised Gandapur, being a government minister, for using “foul language” against Bhutto, Nawaz and Maryam. He said that the minister should be ashamed at the language used by him but deplored that the ruling alliance instead of apologising was feeling pride for this behaviour. 

PPP Senator Mian Raza Rabbani made an emotional speech and said that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the benefactor of this country who made the country a “nuclear deterrent.” “If today Pakistan can look into the eyes of India, it was Bhutto who chose gallows to bring the country at this stage.” 

Rabbani said that Z.A. Bhutto gave his life but did not compromise on the country’s atomic programme and never made any deal with US. He said that Bhutto was the one who raised the issue of Kashmir at Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). 

Leader of the House Dr Shahzad Waseem got the floor to respond opposition leaders’ speeches. 

“If the opposition continues like this, it will be difficult for me to control my members,” Waseem remarked. He said that they should look at their behaviour in the House rather they talked about the remarks made in the political rallies. 

He said the top leadership of opposition parties should apologise for the inappropriate language they used in the election rallies in AJK after seeing that their defeat was writing on the wall. He said that a debate would continue in this country on the incidents of 1971 that led to disintegration of country into two parts. He said that if this was not true that Bhutto had called that he would break the legs of those who would visit then East Pakistan. “Whether such remarks were not uttered in 1970’s.” 

Responding to Rabbani, he said that opposition’s claim was wrong that they would live and die in the country. He gave a reference to Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and said that he was on a visit to US along with his CV (curriculum vitae) and another leader did not return after leaving the country for medical treatment — a reference to PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif.  

Waseem continued and pointed towards Prime Minister Imran Khan saying that those would live and die in the country who have served this country while living here, and have done politics while living in this country. He said that if the opposition leadership would allege them on the floor for selling out Kashmir, then they would have to tell what they have been doing for the troubled region. 

Winding a call attention notice, Minister for Aviation Division Ghulam Sarwar Khan told the House that Pakistan in May this year had decided to reduce inbound flights to 20 percent due to COVID-19 but international airlines made overbooking that caused cancellation of flight for Pakistanis. “Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has called an explanation and issued show-cause notices to the airlines,” he said adding that action will be taken against them under the IATA rules.

The House also passed the Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that was moved by Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz on behalf of Minister for Law Farogh Naseem.