ISLAMABAD: Shehbaz Sharif made his final appearance in National Assembly on Wednesday as prime minister with all praise for the 13-party coalition, as well as the military for their cooperation during his 16-month premiership.
In his farewell speech in National Assembly, Sharif termed his 16-month-long tenure as prime minister the most difficult test of his life.
“I’d never gone through such a difficult test during my 38-year-long political career like whatever I’d face this time as the country was mired in a severe economic crisis, oil prices remained high and there was political chaos,” he added.
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He declared that he would be sending the summary for the dissolution of the National Assembly to the president tonight, besides holding talks with the opposition leader in NA Raja Riaz to finalise the name of the caretaker prime minister. “We’ll be holding our first meeting on Thursday (today), and as per the constitution, we’ve three days to reach a decision.”
He said that the coalition government faced several challenges and difficulties during its 16-month-long brief tenure, as “we’d to bear the burden of PTI government’s failure and negligence.”
In an obvious reference to the incarceration of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said it is not a moment of happiness if leader of a political party has been put behind bars. “We never send any political rival to jail or bothered them unfairly. This was never our practice. We’re not happy if the leader of a political party has been sentenced. If some people have distributed sweets, it’s not a good tradition,” he said.
Sharif termed that the events following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief on May 9 in connection with a graft case were a rebellion against the state, the armed forces and the army chief.
“May 9 will be remembered as a ‘black day’. It was a rebellion against the army, the state and (army chief) Gen Asim Munir,” he added.
He urged the house to adopt a resolution and pledge that “no one will be allowed to commit such acts against the state or army of Pakistan ever again”.
He also recalled the sacrifices rendered in the fight against terrorism, saying 80,000 Pakistanis lost their lives and the world acknowledges these great sacrifices.
He took great pride in the establishment of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), saying it was one of the great achievements of the coalition government.
Speaking on Balochistan, he said that the province lags behind compared to other three provinces of the country, adding the demands faced by the people of Balochistan are fair enough and they needed to be addressed and resolved with sincerity.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), a former prime minister, said that over 40 or 53 bills were passed from the house during the ongoing session, which is a matter of shame for all of us.
Taking a jibe at fellow lawmakers, he said that the overall impression about MPs among masses is those sitting in assemblies are outright corrupt, which needs to be negated through actions and not rhetoric.
He said that the tax system of the country is ineffective, flawed and fragmented, and the reason behind it is the lawmakers who make laws do not pay tax themselves and instead burden masses with heavy taxation.
“The question is whether those (MPs) imposing tax on masses are paying taxes themselves or not. The NAB (National Accountability Bureau) asked all the questions when I was being interrogated, but it never questioned me whether I pay tax or not. This is something which needs to be corrected,” he added.
He continued that defence, assembly, government and all other institutions are run on 24pc loan, for which, “there is a need to introduce massive reforms for restructuring the overall system of the country”.
“I would request you to bring the record of the legislation done in five years, and I bet you not a single legislation was done for the masses’ welfare. This is what we’re doing in this house,” he added.
He said that there is a need to revamp the whole governance system, and economy, adding “at least it will take 10 years to put the country on right direction, and for this, we all are equally responsible for what we’re facing today”.
There is a need to form a ‘truth commission’ to let masses know who did what due to which the country is at the brink of complete collapse, he said, adding the lawmakers have completely eroded the trust of the common man and it cannot be restored through mere statements, as it needed practical steps.
Syed Khursheed Shah of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) demanded that there should be no delay in holding elections, and the parliament must not be kept in abeyance, adding the only solution to save the country is the supremacy of parliament and continuation of democracy.
He paid tribute to Shehbaz Sharif for keeping the coalition of 13-parties intact, saying only a magician could have accomplished such a tricky task of keeping such a big coalition united and not an ordinary man, but Sharif played well during his 16-month premiership.
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that economic stability would be the biggest challenge for the upcoming National Assembly.
He called for joint efforts to put Pakistan on path to economic stability by utilising its own resources instead of relying on foreign debts.
He said that it is a good omen that all the assemblies after the tumultuous politics of 90s have completed their constitutional tenure.
The opposition leader in NA, Raja Riaz, said that flawed policies of the previous government brought the country to the brink of default but the outgoing assembly took a wise decision to dislodge the PTI government through a no-confidence motion.
He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif astutely prevented the economic default of the country.
The house passed unanimous resolutions recommending renaming Quetta International Airport and Gwadar Port after Shaheed Nawab Akbar Bugti in recognition of his services for the country and democracy. The house was prorogued sine die.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023