| Both agree to ensure smooth conduct of parliamentary proceeding after three days of clashes | No individual will 
be targeted or insulted during budget speeches: Fawad

ISLAMABAD   -  After three days of ruckus in the National Assembly, both the government and the opposition on Thursday developed consensus and decided to ensure smooth conduct of ongoing budget session in the Parliament that remained distributed during the last three days due to some unpleasant episodes.

“It is a welcoming development that the government and opposition have reached on an agreement, and from now onward, the parliamentary proceeding will be carried out as per routine,” Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain told media along with Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak here at the Parliament House.

He said parliamentary teams of government and opposition held a detailed discussion over the unpleasant environment in the Parliament and admitted that it brought embarrassment for the House. The minister said the meeting was of the view that there should not be such an environment that could affect functioning of the institutions.

Giving details of the meeting, he said the government team was led by Pervez Khattak, comprising Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, PTI Chief Whip Amir Dogar and he [Fawad] himself, while opposition team was consisted of PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah, Ayaz Sadiq, Rana Tanvir, and PPP’s Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Shazia Marri.

The Information Minister said the meeting also proposed to form a parliamentary committee, comprising members from both treasury and opposition benches, that would be responsible for the conduct of their respective members in the House.

The meeting, he said, also agreed that no individual would be targeted and insulted during budget speeches of parliamentarians from the both treasury and opposition benches. Till formation of the committee, he said, the leadership of parliamentary parties would ensure practicing parliamentary norms by their respective members in the National Assembly.

Fawad said the committee would also look into the possibilities of increasing the powers of the Speaker National Assembly. He said the government team had requested the opposition to withdraw the no-confidence motion it submitted against Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri, expressing optimism that there would be a positive response.

Answering a question, he said Pervez Khattak had chaired a Parliamentary Committee meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the government allies, during which 186 members had shown complete confidence in Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

“We [PTI] want a good environment in the Parliament,” he said, adding the government believed in promoting supremacy of the Constitution and democratic norms in the country.

Replying to another question, Fawad said Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were being developed in the country to ensure transparency and fast compilation of election results, adding the EVMs would also be used in elections of the Parliamentary Reporters Association (PRA), Press Clubs and the Bar associations.

‘Budget 2021-22 to sail through NA easily’

Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak Thursday said the government would easily get passed the federal budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 as it had the required number in the National Assembly for its approval.

He said that disturbance in the parliament during the budget session from both the government and opposition sides was deplorable, and it was also not good for the parliament. “We should create such an atmosphere that gives a message that the parliamentarians representing 220 million people are serious to discuss and find solution of the public issues in the parliament,” he said.  

He said the meeting had decided that there would be no hooliganism during the session and decent language would be used by members from both sides of the aisle.

He said the Pakistan Threek-e-Insaf government had presented the people and business friendly budget, and it wanted an open discussion on it. He said that the opposition parties had the right to criticize the budgetary proposals, while the government’s obligation was to highlight achievements.

He said the government and the opposition had agreed to run the affairs of the parliament in a smooth way and to hear each other’s point of view with due respect and patience. The minister said it had also been decided that a parliamentary committee would be constituted to further empower the speaker and ensure the proceedings of the house are conducted in a harmony.

Khattak said it was the government’s desire that the house must function as per the constitution. He said, “We want to give a message to the nation that the parliament works for the betterment of the country.”

It was the power of the Speaker to suspend the membership of the lawmakers for 24 hours, he said, adding a parliamentary committee had been proposed to give more powers to Speaker.