Sitting in the press gallery Monday evening I often felt forced to scream like a person gone mad. Someone really needed to remind the honorable members of a sovereign-pretending House that the ongoing session of it had been specifically summoned to discuss, approve or reject an “economic package.”

The finance minister felt forced to introduce this package a month ago. It comprised second “money budget” of a government that took over in August 2018. Through the same, Asad Umar, conceded some tax-related concessions in the name of kick-starting a sluggish looking economy. Our economy doesn’t look taking off after introducing these concessions. That provided some substance to conspiratorial whispers, claiming that a peculiar group of influential business tycoons had, in effect, “extracted” the said concessions by ganging up.

Since taking over, the PTI government never looked so friendly and sympathetic to mass of middle class families and salaried segments. They keep enduring unbearable increase in their gas and electricity bills.

The government can explain its position while leading and facilitating a spirited and exhaustive debate in the national assembly on the state of our economy.

Even if the government prefers to act indifferent, the opposition in a dynamic democracy compels it to explain with aggressive management of parliamentary business. Our opposition has its own priorities, though.

The PPP is yet to forget and forgive the arrest of Sindh Assembly Speaker, Agha Siraj Durrani, by the NAB “from Rawalpindi”. The PML-N remains upset over the absence of Khawaja Saad Rafique, for the Speaker has yet to order his production in the house.

At the outset of each sitting, both parties start agitating over the issues of their immediate concern and soon it turns into an ugly and unbearable exercise in trivial point scoring.

Dr Fehmida Mirza had spoken for long on Friday. She succeeded to grab the mic again on Monday to continue naming and shaming the PPP for its “conduct and governance” in Sindh.

No doubt Ms Mirza had given more than two decades of her life to the PPP, but her contribution was duly acknowledged. She relished the privilege of being the first woman speaker of the national assembly and amassed a lot of goodwill while holding that office.

Sadly, she appeared ruining her well-earned reputation with obsessive-looking fits of getting even with her erstwhile comrades.

Her husband, Zulfiqar Mirza, had remained a closest friend of Asif Ali Zardari for many decades. In fury, she disregarded old memories by repeatedly accusing Faryal Talpur, a sister of Zardari, as the “real chief minister of Sindh.”

She alleged that both Zardari and his sister operate like a mafia and their hired goons often attack her home in Badin. As if fierce taking on the PPP leadership were not enough, she went on threatening “each member” sitting on the PPP benches.

“I have files on all of them to prove how corrupt they are. What was their background and how they turn into overnight millionaires,” she kept thundering.

Once again the PPP members encircled the speaker’s dais to stress the point that Ms Mirza was taking undue advantage of his leniency to malign them. The Speaker acted deaf to their pleas and Ms Mirza concluded her lengthy speech, “on a point of order,” like a conqueror.

For another time, the PTI backbenchers were extremely delighted with her intervention. They certainly appear relishing the discovery of a forceful handler of the PPP in her.

Things, however, are not too cohesive within the PTI either. An overwhelming majority of its backbenchers strongly believe that house proceedings are being constantly ‘hijacked’ by a peculiar group of “favorites,” occupying front benches of the treasury. They hardly have any space to shine by expressing their ideas.

Due to their heart burning, the government visibly feels hesitant to let the assembly focus on the package, Asad Umer had announced and get over with the approval of it by vote count, even if the opposition did not cooperate.

The PTI is running the government with a razor thin majority. But I don’t see any possibility of the package, introduced by Asad Umer, being voted out.

Yet, the government surely needs to approach its members, far more diligently, to collect a formidable-looking number to get the same package passed from the national assembly.

The ongoing and unnecessarily prolonged showdown between the information minister and the Chairman cum MD of the government run PTV clearly reflects the in-house chaos of the government.

Like all his predecessors, Imran Khan is also governing through a very powerful Prime Minister’s secretariat. Old and known cronies are flooding it.

Some of them act like ministers’ ministers while enjoying the status of unelected advisors and special assistants. Instead of seeking guidance from relevant ministers, bureaucrats wait for orders coming from the PM secretariat. The same is the case in both the provinces, Punjab and the KP, the PTI rules.

Fawad Chaudhry has bravely, or you may say recklessly, opted to defy the remote controlling handlers. Prime Minister has to make a choice now. It has reached the either/or stage and the PM can no more afford to defer showing his choice.