Reaffirming an earlier commitment to work hand in hand with the opposition to steer the country out of crises, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday invited PML-N to share the collective responsibility while skilfully deflecting the queries which finally led the N-Leaguers to lose temper and stage the most ferocious protest of current session.
"The entire nation has pinned hopes on this house...If you fail, nobody would be victorious and that would be failure of democracy," Gilani said, cooling the tempers of the angry lawmakers of PML-N who had turned violent before his arrival in the house. "We are ready to discuss every single issue but a rumpus in this house is a slap on the face of democracy," the PM added.
In response to the concerns of leader of the opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan regarding ISI's dubious role (engagement in political activates through sponsorships of public rallies) and nitty-gritty details of ISI Chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha's recent visit to the US, Gilani urged the lawmakers to trust national institutions. "Intelligence comes under the administration of the government and if they were doing something then they must have acted on instructions," he added.
Gilani said Pakistan had decades old relations based on mutual respect and mutual interest with the US, had intelligence co-operation in the past and will remain in the future. Nisar referred to the Prime Minister's speech delivered earlier in the day wherein the PM had defended the agencies and said after listening to the speech, "I am no longer ready to share the proof (he had revealed the other day) with the PM but am ready to brief the house."
"Convene an in-camera session or an open session, I am ready to share the evidence and to disclose who had played the role in release of Raymond Davis," Nisar added. Gilani said both the parties had struggled hard for last nine years for democracy and we acknowledge suggestions from the opposition deserve paying attention while urging leader of the opposition to follow rules of business if they needed viable response from the government over any issue.
He welcomed the speech of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif wherein he had said that drone attacks could not be stopped unless the country was self-sufficient economically. "I invite you to come and help us in steering the country out of economic quagmire," Gilani said while expressing readiness to implement the 10-point agenda given by PML-N. Earlier, non-implementation of these 10 points had resulted in parting ways with PML-N in Punjab.
The issues raised by the leader of the opposition seeking policy statement from the government remained the same: drone attacks, player behind Raymond Davis release, price hike, shortage of electricity, increase in prices of petroleum products and the role of agencies.
Nisar said the elected members of the Parliament were answerable to the people and it was duty of the opposition to guide the government and pinpoint its follies in the larger national interest. "Credibility of this house has not been taken care of for the last three years," Nisar said while lamenting over the government failure to spell out policy on the issues of vital national concern.
After the government realisation that since start of the current session they (PML-N) had continuously sought clarification from the government, PML-N members started chanting slogans of rejection to the drone attacks, President Asif Ali Zardari, corruption, price hike and load shedding. In addition to the N-Leaguers, Marvi Memon of PML-Q joined the rumpus as she sought explanation from the government over Rs 8894 billion debts during the current fiscal as compared to Rs 4357 billion last year. Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi kept on urging MPs to maintain the decorum.
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