ISLAMABAD: The government came under severe criticism in National Assembly on Thursday from both its ally Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) as well as the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over regular absence of ministers during the sessions of the house.

Deputy speaker National Assembly, Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah, who presided over the session, said he was going to adjourn house until Friday due to the absence of the ministers, and “we will be sending a letter to the prime minister concerning this matter.”

The absence of the ministers from house sessions has become a common occurrence, a trend that has escalated during the current session.

On Wednesday, the lawmakers belonging to both the treasury and opposition voiced concerns over absence of the ministers during the question hour.

However, all the concerns were disregarded, as no minister, state minister, or parliamentary secretary was present during the question hour session on Thursday, which resulted in protests from both the allied PPP and the opposition PTI.

This prompted Asad Qaiser, the former NA speaker from PTI demanded the chair to suspend the proceedings for five minutes and summon all the ministers to reach to the house.

“There is not a single minister present in the house. This raises questions about their commitment to the parliament. Such behaviour is unacceptable,” he lamented.

The protests by both a government ally and an unruly opposition prompted the chair to announce that a letter would be sent to the prime minister, adding the action is being taken after the ministers did not pay any heed to a warning given to them a day ago.

“The government is not taking the issue seriously and if it wants to run the house without ensuring presence of the minister, it’s not acceptable,” he warned.

Subsequently, the deputy speaker suspended the proceedings for 15 minutes. Upon reconvening, PPP’s Naveed Qamar said his party had taken up the issue of ministers’ absence the previous day, but no one paid any heed to it.

He said the federal cabinet collectively bears the responsibility of ensuring the ministers’ attendance in National Assembly as it is their constitutional obligation to be present in the house.

He continued there could be no bigger a responsibility other than National Assembly, yet it is consistently neglected by the ministers who choose to disregard this responsibility on a daily basis.

He questioned how can they expect that anyone, whether from opposition or elsewhere, will hold parliament in great esteem when its major beneficiaries choose to disregard it.

He lambasted the government for its absurdity, saying the issue of ministers’ absence is raised repeatedly, yet they keep on abstaining themselves.

Qamar then called upon NA deputy speaker to issue a strict ruling regarding the matter, emphasising that the house proceedings must not be run until the ministers were in attendance.

In response, the deputy speaker recalled that he had issued a ruling the previous day, stating that a letter would be sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure presence of ministers for parliamentary proceedings.

The Opposition Leader in National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan expressed his displeasure regarding absence of ministers during the question hour.

“It’s 11:49am now and despite having taken a break, no minister is in attendance. I’ve the questions prepared. What is the purpose of our presence here when there is no one to respond to our questions,” he lamented.

He underscored that the question hour serves as the sole platform through which the government can be held accountable; if it is not treated with the seriousness it deserves, one must question the state of governance and accountability.

“This is a humiliation of the House,” he said, requesting NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and his deputy Mustafa Shah to ensure presence of the ministers.

Shazia Marri, another PPP lawmaker, echoed the same concerns, stating that the assurance provided by a minister on the issue yesterday was quite weak.

She continued that “rather than addressing the issue at hand, they focused on elaborating their performance,” quipping, “As a result of Wednesday’s events, that particular minister is now also missing.”

The PPP MNA argued that parliamentary secretaries lack a constitutional role, which is instead reserved for federal and state ministers.

“The parliamentary secretaries cannot serve as a substitute for the federal cabinet,” she elaborated.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024