Amid opposition boycott and chanting of 'no, no', and 'shame, shame', the National Assembly on Wednesday passed the National Security Council Bill, 2004.
The amendment by MQM was made part of the bill that any matter discussed by the council that required implementation would be referred to either the National Assembly or the Senate for appropriate action as the House witnessed one of the noisiest scenes.
However, MQM amendment in Section-5 of the sub-section-2 of the bill, a sub-section-3 that any important matter taken up by the NSC and required implementation would be referred to the Senate or the National Assembly for appropriate action was made part of the bill, as the other ruling coalition members did not object to it.
The slogans of 'Go Musharraf, go' returned again in the House. The Speaker was unable to restore order after the ruling PML parliamentary leader Shujaat Hussain made some remarks against PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the first sitting.
The session was adjourned amid pandemonium after the speaker expunged them.
The opposition at a news conference in the Parliament cafeteria, after the session was adjourned, said that NSC would render the Parliament and the parliamentary form of government redundant.
They alleged that the ruling coalition had given the armed forces a political party's role in politics and wondered what exactly would be the future of true democratic parties following the NSC.
In the second sitting, all the amendments proposed by MMA were dropped because the members insisted for restoration of order before they tabled their amendments.
The bill would pave the way for the establishment of 13-member council, with the president as its chairman, and prime minister, chairman joint chiefs of the staff committee, the chief of the army staff, the speaker National Assembly, the chairman Senate, leader of the opposition, chief ministers and chiefs of the Navy and Air Force was its members.
The sitting in the afternoon started 45 minute late. The chair's threats of adjournment fell on deaf ears and opposition members kept thumping the desk and smashing papers against the desks.
Opposition's unanimous demand was that Imran must be given the floor to explain his position on the remarks made by PML leader. However, the chair insisted that since those were expunged, there was no need to give mike to PTI chief.
Against what was agreed between the government and the opposition in the Speaker's chamber, the bill was passed on Wednesday instead of further discussion on it and voting on the bill on Friday. "I will not allow any one to hijack the House," the chair said when opposition members declined to stop slogan chanting and desk thumping and participate in the proceedings unless order was restored and Imran Khan was given the floor.
Later, the chair put the bill clause by clause for voice vote and it was passed amid chants of 'shame, shame', following the motion was adopted.
The journalist community walked out of the press gallery during the first sitting after Education Minister Zubaida Jalal made some 'unwanted' remarks against a prominent Urdu daily. The boycott continued even during the afternoon proceedings.
However, the minister made an apologetic statement, insisting that she did not make a reference to any particular newspaper.
Opposition leaders including Aitzaz Ahsan, Liaquat Baloch, Imran Khan, Rauf Mengal, Tehmina Daultana, Khawaja Saad Rafique and Maimoona Hashmi accused Shujaat and Speaker of deliberately spoiling the House environment so that opposition could not take part in the business.
They charged that treasury bulldozed the proceedings under special instructions by certain quarters so that the bill could be passed in a hurry. "Maybe they did not trust their own members about their support on the bill".
NSC idea, they said, was wish of a power-hungry man who wanted to deprive the country of federal parliamentary system and replace it with a military rule.
The council, they said, was a cheat to the masses under the grab of which the establishment would have all powers.
Earlier, MMA members staged walkout against what they called deletion of Quranic verses and important chapters of Islamic teachings and history from the college and school syllabi. However, the education minister denied this outrightly.
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