Unwarranted pandemonium?

The joint session of parliament met Monday morning to discuss and map out a national response to the Saudi request for help in the Yemen crisis - a formidable challenge before the house indeed given its ramifications at home and abroad. But the first thing first and that first thing was to expel civility and decorum. After all a stranger has no place in an elected house. As soon the members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf entered the house there was a pandemonium, the loudest heckles emanating from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (N) back benches. But what shocked most was Defence Minister Khwaja Asif's tirade, heavily laced with idiom of street against PTI chief Imran Khan. "You curse this house and then come and sit in the same place," the Khwaja thundered - and the chair kept smiling. Perhaps, he should have directed first at National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq who had waited for this day to come instead of doing the right thing by accepting the PTI members' resignations. How misleading were the Khwaja Asif's colleagues' entreaties that they made to the PTI interlocutors asking them to return to the parliament, one would ask. The argument that the Khwaja was incensed by Imran Khan's stated position that last general election was massively rigged holds no water, given the fact that the PTI hasn't given up on its stand yet. In a democratically-elected parliament the opposition is supposed to be opposing everything and proposing nothing. More so in the obtaining circumstances when the defence minister should have kept his cool with a view to muster maximum support to his government's position as it confronts a formidable challenge and needs the support of parliament across the board. Consider, how unwanted was the defence minister's harangue against Imran Khan as former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah, known for his toxic observations, welcomed the return of the PTI members, hoping in future Khan's consort, Reham Khan, will also continue her role urging the chief to return to the assemblies, and the Speaker said 'you were missed'. If the MQM and JUI (F) too joined the ruckus protesting the return of the PTI members after their implausible absence from parliament it was understandable - they are rivals of the PTI in their respective political arenas. But what defies common sense is that while Leader of the House Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif opted to be a mere spectator of the show the Leader of Opposition, Khursheed Shah, welcomed the long-lost colleagues. Having reaped nothing worthwhile from his record-breaking sojourn in a container stationed opposite the Parliament House Imran Khan should have been pretty discreet in his expressions about his rivals in politics. But keeping the house in order specially summoned to hammer out a response to the Saudi request for military help was essentially the responsibility of the treasury benches. How things played out as soon the joint session was called to order speaks volumes about bankruptcy of the political elite. That the treasury benches should hijack a crucial debate is definitely something that gives weight to Imran Khan's repeated call that circa 2015 is an election year. It seems the nation's elected representatives have failed to appreciate the criticality of the matter the joint session is expected to discuss and produce a consensus resolution as to where Pakistan stands at this juncture in the context of a brewing Yemen imbroglio. This is disgusting - and poignantly a verdict on the civilian political leaderships' inability to stand up to challenges of the magnitude we as a country face today.