ISLAMABAD: The opposition leader in National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan lambasted the ruling coalition on Tuesday for extending the service tenure of the army chief, alleging: “it has ruined the careers of many brilliant army officers.”
Speaking on a point of order in National Assembly, Ayub, who had been barred by NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq the other day from speaking on the “controversial bills”, he claimed that the opposition members were not allowed to speak on the bills as “the incumbent regime had to follow the orders from its handlers”.
The remarks from the opposition leader come after parliament passed six bills including The Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and Pakistan Army Amendment Bill, 2024, with the majority vote amid opposition’s strong protest.
Ayub criticised the passage of six bills and branded the coalition government as a “regime of thieves”, triggering a ruckus in the house.
He argued that the bills should have been discussed in the standing committees first, adding the prime minister and his party members had to ensure their presence in the house the other day as a “big stick” hung over their heads to get the bills passed.
“As these people did the job (passed the bills) under duress, and today the force has been removed, and the house is empty,” he regretted.
“They keep talking about May 9, showing students the damage at Jinnah House. We will also show the students of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the destruction caused by federal forces at KP House. We will show our youth how one province was attacked,” he added.
“The people are suffering from inflation, yet the government is focused on passing bill after bill. This is not a government, but a regime and a mafia. They are afraid of a person sitting in jail,” he alleged.
“When our government was in power, GDP (gross domestic product) was at six per cent. Come, take a camera and walk through the markets, ask the public if inflation has decreased. You can even ask the security guard standing next to you if inflation has gone down,” he added.
“Sardar Akhtar Mengal stepped down as member of National Assembly, but not a single ear seemed to listen him,” he lamented.
During the session, the deputy speaker Syed Mir Ghulam Mustafa Shah allowed the When PTI defected member, Aurangzeb Kicchi spoke, the PTI members chanted slogans against hi,.
“I am standing under the names of Allah and I swear by those that if I have taken even a single rupee, I will be held accountable. PTI is a big party, and I want to make it clear that when the forward bloc was forming, I helped save it,” Kicchi added.
Amid the opposition’s uproar, the deputy speaker prorogued the house sine die.
The live stream on the National Assembly’s YouTube channel went blank during the Omar Ayub’s speech, which was resumed when Kicchi took the floor.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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