FROM A RINGSIDE SEAT

Parliament is the highest forum in a country. It embodies the ethos of its people's aspirations. Its members are considered national icons and are emulated as role models.
In Pakistan, too, the National Assembly and the Senate tended to evoke similar awe and admiration-despite General Naqvi's political engineering-when the two houses opened their doors for legislative work.
When the young and old, experienced and novice, finely dressed men and exquisitely manicured women came to take oath their 150 million supporters raised their faces to look into the bright sun of hope. Democracy is contagious, breeds hope, and reinforces faith. High or low, it turns everyone its stakeholder.
As I sit to write the Ringside column after watching the Monday proceedings I realise how far away our leaders in this august House have moved away from that pantheon of people's aspirations. Where have all those icons gone? Why have they failed the 150 million people of this poor country? Is it that their wages are not commensurate with their labour? None of it.
The fact is that the wages and fringe benefits which they get are phenomenal; the funds at their disposal are huge; and the time for leisure they avail is almost unlimited.
An average member's wage and perks exceed one hundred thousands rupees a month; he/she gets highly subsidised accommodation, travel and medical facilities. VIP lounges at airports are opened for them.
And, against all this, the sit in the House--just sit--in most of the cases, on average two hours a day, hardly 120 days a year. Saturday and Sunday between two working days are counted as working days for the purpose of wages and allowances!
On Monday, the House was to meet at 11 am. As soon as it met it was adjourned because it did not have the quorum. For the next 90 minutes the treasury members could not come to the House in numbers enough to make up the quorum of 86. As it resumed the meeting, Khwaja Asif once again pointed out lack of quorum.
The counting was done and Speaker Amir Hussain found the house in order, but Asif insisted it was not. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan asked the Speaker to direct Asif not to interfere with the working of the Assembly.
That followed the question hour, which was very soon over since the Opposition members, who were not in the House as they were boycotting the meeting, had asked all except one question.
Mehnaz Rafi, a treasury member, took strong exception to the boycott by Opposition. "They should be ashamed of their behaviour as they get all allowances but do not attend the proceedings." As she was making her speech, Opposition members entered the House and paraded in front of the Speaker's dais.
"Go, Musharraf, Go", and "Go, Speaker, Go". These and such other slogans were raised, drowning out the Speaker's directions. The treasury members were conspicuously passive to the charged atmosphere. Then they (opposition) left the house, and in came Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
With opposition having disappeared the House settled down to a calm. "Let's do some work, now.
The House passed two bills and referred the third to a committee with the speed of hurricane-no discussion, no amendments, nothing of the so-called debate in the National Assembly. One of the bills had 20 clauses and the other 22.
Sher Afgan was again on his feet asking the Speaker to send his privilege motions against Opposition members for their besieging the chair on the day the uniform bill was passed to the privileges committee.
In the last sitting, he was snubbed by his colleagues. On Monday again, as the Prime Minister gestured him not to press his motions and the Speaker requested him to keep these on hold during the month of Ramazan, Riaz Pirzada had some blunt words for minister Sher Afgan: "You want us all to get killed?"
The house will meet on Tuesday. From the house the Opposition members came to main entrance lobby and addressed news conference. They said they would come to the House every day but would not participate in its proceedings--like their protest of last year against the LFO.
They would not be resigning, unlike Dr Tahirul Qadri, but would keep up rumpus in parliament and street agitation outside.
Meanwhile, there were unconfirmed reports that unity of ruling coalition is being threatened by desertions. Zafarullah Khan Jamali is one among the members being named as possible deserter.