Pandemonium breaks out in NA: Opposition demands government withdraw references against judges

All major opposition parties on Friday condemned filing of references in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against Justice Qazi Isa of Supreme Court and Justice K.K. Agha of the Sindh High Court (SHC). These parties demanded the government withdraw these references immediately.
While addressing the media outside the Parliament House, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Sardar Akhtar Mengal of Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and representatives of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) condemned the filing of references against two judges and termed it 'a government plan aimed at pressurising judiciary.'
Bilawal said that rules and regulations were violated when members of the opposition were not allowed to speak in parliament. "What happened today in parliament was undemocratic and against the rules and regulations," the PPP chairman said.
He condemned the references against two judges and maintained that the government should have taken the parliament into confidence before taking such step.
Bilawal condemned the Islamabad police action against PPP workers on 29 May (when he was summoned by National Accountability Bureau in the fake accounts case).
"This is Riasat-e-Madina and Naya Pakistan where political workers including women are treated with brutality by the police," he said. "The present government contains several elements of the cabinet of former president Pervez Musharraf and it has adopted the traditions of a military dictator's rule," he said.
He accused the present government of wanting to have a 'selected opposition and judiciary'. During his press conference, he demanded the issuance of production orders for the two MNAs - Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar - who were taken into custody earlier this week. He has also written a letter to National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, saying that production orders should be issued for the MNAs.
Bilawal contended that in spite of evidence that his letter had been received, "but today we are told that they had not received my letter."
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi concurred and expressed PML-N reservations against the presidential references filed against the two judges and urged the government to withdraw the reference or else face resistance by the PML-N at every forum.
Abbasi said the reference is tantamount to a conspiracy against an independent judiciary and his party is standing firm with the judiciary.
He also demanded issuance of production orders of Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir. During the previous session the Opposition had urged the Speaker to constitute a special parliamentary committee on the audio and video recordings implicating Chairman NAB in inappropriate interactions as well as on the North Waziristan incident; however the government 'escaped from parliament today to avoid discussions on these important issues," Abbasi claimed.
Abbasi also condemned the attitude of the federal ministers during the parliamentary session.
President Balochistan National Party (BNP) Muhammad Akhtar Mengal queried whether the references against the judges were filed due to Justice Isa's observations contained in the judgment in the Faizabad incident and the terrorist attack in Quetta. He urged that a commission be formed to probe the Kharqamar checkpost attack.
Earlier, a pandemonium was witnessed in the House after explosive remarks by the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad on the arrest of two MNAs from Waziristan.
During the speech of the Minister, the opposition members stood on their seats and loudly protested against Ali Muhammad Khan's diatribe against MNAs Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir Khan.
Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri prorogued the session as parliamentarians from both sides of the House came face-to-face on the assembly floor after Ali Muhammad Khan's scathing criticism - which included the use of unparliamentarily terms - of the two Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leaders.
The State Minister, while responding to a question, accused the two MNAs of harboring anti-Pakistan sentiments and questioned their loyalty to the country.
He further accused Dawar and Wazir of being "touts" of Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, and called for their expulsion as members of Pakistan's parliament.
His provocative comments drew a sharp response from the opposition benches as PPP leaders, including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, stood up to register their protest midway through Khan's address.
The House presented the scene of a fish market after lawmakers from other opposition parties, including PML-N joined in the loud protest and surrounded the speaker's dais though the Minister of State was still speaking.
During this, some members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the government walked to the Speaker's dais with posters and began shouting 'give Karachi water'. This enraged the PPP leaders, including Syed Naveed Qamar, who tried to snatch the posters from their hands. Thereafter, pushing and shoving commenced. The session, which was chaired by the deputy speaker, was adjourned for an indefinite period.