By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly sharply rebuked what he called anti-parliamentary statements by a prominent opposition figure on Monday, vowing to defend the institution against any threats and urging lawmakers to collectively discourage such rhetoric to preserve democratic traditions.
Without naming the individual, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq described an episode in which a member of the assembly entered the Parliament House and announced in the opposition lobby plans to approach the speaker’s chair to disrupt proceedings while Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah was presiding. He said the same member later issued another “irresponsible and provocative statement,” declaring he would use public force to halt parliamentary proceedings.
“This is my responsibility to protect parliament. It is inappropriate to talk against the state and parliament. We will all stop it together,” Sadiq said before formally announcing the start of the Question Hour.
He added that such thinking and statements must be collectively discouraged to ensure parliament’s supremacy, preservation of the constitutional system and protection of democratic traditions. The remarks appeared directed at Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the chief of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, who has been nominated by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party as its leader in the assembly but has not yet been officially notified by the speaker.
Sadiq’s comments put PTI members on the defensive. The party’s chairman, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, and several other lawmakers assured the speaker that their party had no intention of attacking parliament. Barrister Gohar asked the speaker not to escalate the matter, stating that politicians had the right to issue statements about parliament’s functioning.
When Barrister Gohar referred to Achakzai as the opposition leader during his speech, Sadiq interrupted, saying he did not recognise him in that capacity. The office of opposition leader has been vacant since August, following the disqualification of Omar Ayub due to his conviction in cases related to the May 9 unrest. The PTI nominated Achakzai as his successor, but Sadiq has refused to issue the notification, calling the matter sub judice in a court of law.
Lamenting what he described as the opposition’s past “confrontational politics,” Sadiq recalled a 2014 sit-in during which he presided over a joint session of parliament. He said he received a chit from outside threatening him to wind up proceedings within five minutes, or else the “cousin brothers”, a term previously used for PTI’s founding chairman, Imran Khan, and Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr. Tahirul Qadri, could endanger members’ lives by storming the building. He said lawmakers remained determined at the time and stayed present to face any such situation. Parliament, he added, had played a pivotal role in safeguarding the constitution and democracy in 2014, and they were fully prepared to counter any similar attempts now.
Sadiq stressed that if anyone claimed they would bring people to attack parliament, they might attempt so, but such tone and language would never be acceptable. He asserted that parliament was the house of the people, and its dignity would be protected at all costs.
Earlier, Barrister Gohar said the PTI had always talked about strengthening parliament and democracy. He recalled that in the past, members of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had held assembly sessions outside Parliament House. He said history showed that people had previously called parliament “bogus and fake.” “Do not create a divide that takes us to an irreversible situation and puts the democracy and constitution at stake,” he asked the speaker.
He recalled that Achakzai was the person who had challenged Gen. Zia’s dictatorship. He said Achakzai had been with the PML-N and the PPP for decades, whereas he had been speaking in support of the PTI only for the past three years. Under the rules, he said, Achakzai had the right to become the opposition leader. He guaranteed on the floor of the house that they would not attack parliament, adding that had they intended such a plan, they would have done it on the oath-taking day or when parliament was passing controversial constitutional amendments.
The speaker allowed ruling party member Shumaila Rana to read out a resolution condemning Achakzai’s remarks and seeking his disqualification as a member of the house, but he did not put it to a vote. “What is the need of moving a resolution? Have we become so weak that we will require the help of resolutions ….. you just read it and we will not vote for it, because we have the courage to give a befitting response to the anti-parliament, anti-state, and anti-Pakistan elements,” Sadiq said while asking Rana to read the resolution.
Responding to Barrister Gohar’s speech, Sadiq stated that all members of parliament were fully aware that his doors had always remained open. He said all his efforts for reconciliation and dialogue were before everyone and were neither hidden nor ambiguous. The speaker remarked that the prime minister, the law minister and he himself had repeatedly made it clear that issues could only be resolved through dialogue, not confrontation.
“Speak to me with respect and goodwill. I have no objection. I am fulfilling my constitutional and parliamentary responsibilities,” he added, while once again offering to play a mediatory role between the government and the opposition.
He further stated that on that day he had extended an offer of dialogue to the opposition leader, but the response he received was: “Talk to India, talk to Afghanistan — but I will not talk to you.”
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