ISLAMABAD - Amid a noisy protest in the house, Acting Chairman Senate Syedaal Khan on Tuesday suspended membership of three PTI senators for the remaining session after the opposition party demanded his resignation over ‘controversial’ remarks and a decision of withholding the results of voting on the SBP Bill.
“I direct the sergeant-at-arms to expel senators including Aon Abbas Bappi, Humayun Mohmand and Ms Falak Naz from the house…These members are considered suspended for the remaining sittings of the (ongoing) session,” the acting chairman said after talking sense of the Senate through a voice vote.
Khan also said the house could not be run by anyone’s wishes and personal agenda, adding that he would follow the law and the rules of business. The acting chairman, who is also the deputy chairman Senate, took this extreme step that is considered unpleasant in the parliamentary traditions after the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers staged a rowdy protest in the house during the question hour session. They tore apart copies of the agenda, tossed them into the air and gathered in front of the dais of the chair.
There was a complete uproar in the house amid the lawmakers’ slogans, ‘give respect to the vote, give respect to the chair, resign – deputy chairman, and bring back (Chairman Senate) Gilani.’
The PTI protest compelled the chair to adjourn the house instantly after completion of the question hour and without taking up the remaining agenda on the orders of the day. Just a minute before the adjournment, he suspended membership of three protesting senators under different Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012. A day earlier, Deputy Chairman Senate Syedaal Khan had set a new precedent by withholding the results of the voting on a motion for the immediate consideration of the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, moved by PTI Senator Mohsin Aziz. Apparently, the votes in favour of the motion were more than in its opposition, causing embarrassment for the government that had opposed the bill.
At the outset of Tuesday’s sitting, Acting Chairman Syedaal Khan said some members of the opposition while keeping aside parliamentary traditions were violating the sanctity of the house and had been challenging the authority of the chair through inappropriate language. “At least, three members of the opposition used inappropriate language during the last day’s sitting,” he added.
He urged the leader of the house and the leader of the opposition to help and guide him to find a solution to this issue.
The chair ruled that the bill seeking to amend the SBP Act had been deferred because the government had a stance that it conflicted with Article 74 of the Constitution. “I want to make it clear that the voting on the bill could not be held, which was the reason that the results of the count were withheld,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition Syed Shibli Faraz disagreed with his remarks and said the bill was considered in the house for voting after passing through necessary checks and the results of the count could not be withheld under the rules of business.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in his response said the chair had shown tolerance and explained the issue with a big heart. “We are all answerable to the public…People look at us for the resolution of their issues,” he said, urging the opposition not to disrupt proceedings of the house.
