Islamabad:
The National Assembly saw a stormy exchange between the government and the opposition on Monday while the PTI legislators organized a demonstration and released after the opposition chief was refused the ground before the start of the Questions time.
The session, chaired by the president of NA, Ayaz Sadiq, began with routine procedures, in particular the announcement of the panel of presidents.
However, chaos broke out when the opposition leader of the opposition Omar Ayub refused to speak, which prompted PTI legislators to raise slogans and hit offices before getting out of sign of protest.
An opposition member then underlined a lack of quorum, but a workforce confirmed that the government had the required figures and that the session could continue.
While the session began the members of the opposition without the opposition, the legislators discussed several questions, in particular the industrial water Treaty, the government revealing that India has made pressure for changes to ’65 -year -old agreement, ignoring the repeated diplomatic efforts of Pakistan.
Concerns have also been raised on the drop in water levels in the main tanks, the official figures indicating serious storage at the Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma dams.
On the Industry Water Treaty, the parliamentary secretary for water resources, Rana Ansar, revealed that India was putting pressure on changes to the agreement.
PPP legislative, Nafisa Shah, asked what was the position of Pakistan. Ansar replied that Islamabad has been engaged in correspondence with New Delhi since March 2023 but has received no response.
Meanwhile, the speaker expressed his dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Water Resources for having failed to respond to parliamentary queries.
The speaker demanded a written explanation of the officials concerned and summoned the secretary to water resources after the PPP chief Naveed Qamar insisted that the minister should have been present in the Chamber to answer questions.
During the session, the head of Jui-F Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri asked questions about the status of the port of Gwadar. The parliamentary secretary, Dr. Darshan, replied that the port is fully operational.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health submitted a written response, revealing that 74,619 cases of HIV were recorded across the country. He said there are currently 94 antiretroviral therapy centers (art) nationally for the treatment of HIV.
The PPP legislative, Sharmila Faruqi, has raised concerns about Sindh’s long -standing water shortages, in particular in Badin, Thitta and Tharparkar.
She asked for allegations that Punjab would allocate his share for the Cholistan Canal project, declaring that Sindh already receives less than its share of water maturity, affecting agriculture in the province.
Faruqi cited reports indicating a 40% decrease in precipitation from July to December, still exacerbating the crisis. It urged the government to convene a meeting of the Common interest Council (CCI) to address the distribution of water resources between the provinces.
At first, the speaker announced the panel of presidents, including Bilal Azhar Kayani, Abdul Qadir Patel, Romina Khurshid Alam, Syed Waseem Hussain, Shahida Akhtar Ali and Sher Ali Arbab.
During the session, the government filed the income tax order (modification) 2024. Later, the session was adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
