ISLAMABAD: The lawmakers belonging to the coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as well as, the dissidents from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday said there is no truth in the US “threat letter” as claimed by the former Prime Minister Imran Khan for a regime change in the country.
Speaking in the National Assembly, they accused former Prime Minister Khan of pushing the country towards anarchy and lawlessness in his “lust” for power.
They were of the view that the people are being misled by the PTI as there was no any “threat letter” from the US, adding the people wanted to get rid of the PTI for its bad governance.
Dr Nisar Ahmad Cheema of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) accused the PTI leadership of igniting people towards anarchy and lawlessness.
He said that the opposition’s claim of the US pressure for a regime change is “a lie”, adding the US pressured Pakistan thrice as for the first time, it threatened Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and then it was Nawaz Sharif who was pressed not to go for nuclear test and third, it was Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Speaking after being administered oath by NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Asharaf, Zahid Akram Durrani, in a broken Urdu, thanked the house for electing him as NA deputy speaker.
Durrani, a loyalist of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F), in his first speech in Urdu – full of mistakes – after taking oath as deputy speaker, said that he would uphold the sanctity of the house.
He accused his predecessor Qasim Khan Suri of the PTI of violating the Constitution and rules of the house by giving a ruling on the no-confidence motion against the then prime minister, Imran Khan.
Maulana Asadur Rehman of the JUI-F alleged that Imran Khan is making a failed attempt to label all politicians as traitors, which is not going to work.
He also said that Imran Khan himself admitted that his removal was due to his “spoiled” relations with ‘establishment’ and not the alleged US conspiracy.
He said that Imran Khan had no capacity to govern the country, adding this was the reason the people of the country rejected him as he had come into power through a “rigged” elections in 2018.
He expressed the confidence that the coalition government would work together and put the country on a consistent path of progress and prosperity.
PTI dissidents particularly, Ahmed Hussain Deharr, were all praise for the powerful establishment, saying the army chief proved his neutrality and his love for democracy in wake of the no-confidence move against Imran Khan.
“The role the Supreme Court played is commendable. I salute the army chief for his neutrality as everything was set for imposition of martial law. I salute the chief of army staff as he proved his neutrality…if he wanted he could have easily imposed a martial law as people were calling for the martial law, but the military stood by the law and constitution,” said Deharr.
Ghous Baksh Meher of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) called for upholding the Constitution and work for the supremacy of the Constitution and the Parliament.
Shahida Rehmani of the PPP said that her party always struggled for the supremacy of the parliament and the Constitution, adding the coalition parties have thrown out the “fascist” government of Imran Khan.
Rana Muhammad Ishaq of the PML-N said that the past PTI government borrowed record loans during last four years but did not launch any mega project in the country.
Raja Riaz, another PTI dissident, demanded action against those who violated or abrogated the Constitution whether it was National Assembly or Provincial Assembly of Punjab.
He also called for exemplary punishment so that no one could dare committing such an act in future, adding the incumbent government should pay attention for the betterment of the masses.
Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali of Jamaat-e-Islami demanded that Friday should be declared weekly holiday instead of Sunday.
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi said the parliamentary norms were badly smashed and crushed during the last four years.
He expressed the hope that the new custodians of the house would uphold the sanctity of this august house and ensure supremacy of parliament.
He said in the past, the business advisory committee of the house was made redundant by former NA Speaker, saying meetings of various standing committees were held on personal liking and disliking.
“Standing Committee on Communication met only six times during the last three and half years”, he claimed.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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