ISLAMABAD - The National Assembly for the third consecutive day witnessed rumpus in the house throughout the session over ‘Panama controversy’.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf stuck to their demand from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to clear his position regarding his contradictory stances over the issue.
The government did not give any specific time for prime minister’s presence in the house but said the answer on apparent discrepancies in his statements over Panama leaks would be given in the Supreme Court, which is hearing a case on the issue.
The house, which started proceedings two hours late, did not dispose of even a single item of the agenda – pending for last two days of the session.
In Monday’s session, the lawmakers from PTI and PML-N kept shouting the slogans against the leadership of each other despite the continuous interruption from Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
‘Gali Gali may shor hai- Nawaz Sharif chor hai’ was the main slogan from PTI lawmakers and ‘Gali Gali may shor hai- Imran Khan chor hai’.
Taking the floor on point of order, PTI parliamentary leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said his party will keep raising the ‘absence and silence’ of the PM.
“The prime minister needs to explain his stance... Imran Khan will (also) definitely come when PM will grace the house and brief (parliamentarians) on the particular matter,” said Qureshi, amid slogans from his party colleagues who declared the PM ‘fugitive’.
“The prime minister should speak truth to the nation, as there are two different statements (from him regarding money trail of London flats),” he said, demanding specific time and date from treasury benches about PM’s presence.
“It is not our aim to disrupt proceedings of the house but government should come up with a proper response,” he added.
Daniyal Aziz, responding from treasury benches, said all the allegations of PTI had proved false and rest of the matter would be cleared in court.
“Answer will be given in the hearing of Supreme Court on this issue,” he said, facing continuous interruption in shape of anti-government slogans from opposition and desk-thumping over his arguments from his party colleagues.
Daniyal in his hour long speech said PTI has been changing its stances and demands on Panama controversy. “All of their claims are proving false,” he said, citing example of 35 puncture related matter.
He claimed that he had challenged International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) through a letter over the Panama leaks matter. “Prime minister’s name was also deleted from website after his challenge. Pakistani journalist involved in this story had also admitted this fact,” he said.
“These journalists (who jointly worked on Panama Papers) are not genuine,” he said.
About the statement of PM’s children, he said they did not change their statements at any stage.
About claims of genuine politics of PTI, he said a PTI member in the name of his servants - including Allah yar and Haji Khan - was involved in doing business.
“Why KP government put to end its accountability commission,” he questioned.
Taking the floor, opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah said the response of government side has also given rise to even more questions.
“If it (Panama leaks) was a lie, why did prime ministers of UK and another country step down?” he asked, saying the PML-N was creating difficulties for itself.
On Quetta inquiry commission report by Justice Qazi Faez Isa, he criticised the way the report was challenged.
“They (PML-N) should realise this decision was against a member of PML-N and not the PPP,” he said in a sarcastic way, adding that it was PPP which accepted the decisions of apex court in letter and spirit. “There was no need to malign institutions,” he said.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, in response to opposition leader’s speech, preferred to answer today (Tuesday) on this matter. “There is a need for an adult education school for some of them,” he remarked when PTI members insisted him to respond on the issue.
Nation Monitoring adds: According to a Dawn News report, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq started the house proceedings by asking Awami Muslim League (AML) Sheikh Rashid to address the session.
Talking about Panamagate, Sheikh Rashid said Nawaz Sharif made mistakes while addressing the issue, “and a person makes such mistakes only when he is guilty”.
Rashid said that the prime minister claimed in parliament that he had proof [of all the business transactions] but his lawyer later told the apex court that they have no evidence of the same.
After the speaker allowed PML-N lawmaker Daniyal Aziz to speak, pandemonium broke out in the PTI benches, with lawmakers protesting the speaker’s decision.
Ayaz Sadiq reminded PTI lawmakers it had been decided that first the opposition would speak and then the government would be allowed to respond, but the lawmakers continued chanting slogans against the prime minister.
PTI leader Shireen Mazari asked Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to let Qureshi speak, in response Sadiq asked her to read the rule book placed in front her first.
The speaker then allowed PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi to address the house again. Qureshi claimed it was not the PTI’s goal to disrupt the house and asked for assurance that the PM would reply to lawmakers.
As the session began late, the question and answer session was subsequently postponed following a motion presented by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Maryam Aurangzeb.
PTI demands debate on commission report
Separately, PTI on Monday also submitted an adjournment motion in the National Assembly seeking a deliberation on Justice Qazi Isa’s commission report on the August 8 carnage in Quetta.
PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Shireen Mazari and Munaza Hassan filed the adjournment motion, raising the issue in the assembly yesterday, according to an ARY TV report.
The adjournment motion maintained that the Quetta carnage report raised worrying issues regarding non-implementation of the National Action Plan against terrorism and directly implicated the interior ministry in its failure.
“The report has raised the issue of the interior minister of inviting and holding meetings with leaders of banned militant organisations,” it said, stressing an explanation from the Chaudhry Nisar.
“The report has exposed serious shortcomings in the government and state infrastructures which have hindered the fight against terrorism,” the motion said, adding “As such it is a strong indictment of the government’s anti-terrorism policy.”
Justice Qazi Isa’s report that was made public last Friday criticised the role of the interior ministry and said it was working without a clear leadership and vision.
It regretted that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar on October 21 met Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, the head of three banned organisations — Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, Millat-i-Islamia and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat — to listen to his demands and conceded to them as per the media reports.
The PTI leaders demanded a comprehensive discussion on the report on the assembly floor saying, “All these issues demand a serious discussion in the National Assembly beginning with an explanation by the interior minister to the serious charges levelled against him in the report.”
Panama pressure keeps Assembly chaotic