ISLAMABAD:
Senators belonging to the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party protested in the Senate on Tuesday over the failure of their fellow lawmaker Ejaz Chaudhry to be brought to the House despite the issuance of a production order by President Yousuf Raza Gilani.
During the session, under Gilani’s presidency, Treasury lawmakers slammed Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz for his “inappropriate” remarks against the government. They warned the opposition that his tirade would not be tolerated.
PTI members surrounded the President’s office with photos of Ejaz Chaudhry and Imran Khan after the order to produce Ejaz Chaudhry was not carried out. They raised slogans demanding the release of Ejaz Chaudhry and withdrawal of “false cases” against him.
Opposition leader Shibli Faraz said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had promised to transform the country into an economic tiger but instead turned it into a jackal. Later, PTI lawmakers staged a withdrawal from the proceedings.
Treasury members stood up in protest and criticized Faraz’s remarks. “What is this,” asked PML-N parliamentary party leader Irfan Siddiqui. “It’s not going to happen that we continue to listen to what they say.” He asked the president to erase these comments.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal hit back at PTI, saying that during his rule, he had looted Pakistan’s resources and used the name of Islam to hide his theft. “This Islamic touch will no longer work here,” he said.
Justice Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said religion should not be used as a shield. He told the House that the cases against the PTI members were before the courts and hence the opposition should speak about it in the House.
Tarar said the talks between the government and the PTI were ongoing and to facilitate the negotiations, the government had also organized a meeting between the PTI founder and his party’s negotiating team on Sunday.
Speaking about Ijaz Chaudhry’s non-production in the House, the law minister suggested that the matter be looked into by the House advisory committee and the negotiation committee.
Meanwhile, responding to a call for attention from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MP Sherry Rehman, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar told the House that flights of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to destination Europe had been reinstated due to measures taken by the government.
Dar also said that the process of privatization of the national airline would definitely move forward.
The session was then adjourned until Wednesday (today).
