The government on Monday apologised to National Assembly members for a minister's remarks against the people of Sindh, which he outrightly repudiated in the House.
On behalf of the Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niazi and the Treasury benches, former prime minister Zafarullah Jamali offered apologies to the House.
Opposition members, impeding the business after the prayers break, waved copies of an interview, printed in a Sindhi language newspaper, attributing to Dr Sher Afgan Niazi's wherein he was reported to have passed the objectionable remarks.
Initially, Speaker Amir Hussain tried to do away with the privilege motion by mainly PPPP and some MMA members from Sindh. However, he had to oblige the protesting opposition members as they all stood up and demanded taking up of the motion.
Khurshid Shah, Aitzaz Ahsan, Yousaf Talpur and others demanded of the minister to apologise for dubbing Sindhis opposing the Kalabagh Dam as 'ignorant, mentally retarded and foolish'.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, amid chants of 'lota, and no, no', Niazi wasted no time to say that "though, I did not pass the remarks, yet I am sorry if this hurt the members and Sindhis".
But, this did not satisfy the visibly angry MNAs, who insisted that they would not press the motion, if the minister produced the cutting of repudiation.
Khurshid Shah proposed that the House be adjourned for 15 minutes, enabling the minister to show the cutting to the members.
However, Jamali came to his rescue and offered apology on his behalf and the treasury. On this, the PPPP MNAs did not press the matter and it was duly disposed of.
This issue, however, consumed good one hour of the House.
Law Minister Wasi Zafar insisted that the motion should be tabled and if the chair would deem it proper, it would be entertained.
PPPP had filed two separate privilege motions on the issue and they looked determined not to let the chair to conduct business, if their issue was not taken up.
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