Uproar, walkout in NA as rivals trade insults: Opposition fears assembly dissolution
By Raja Asghar
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22: Rivals traded insults but held back from a possible scuffle as opposition members walked out of the National Assembly on Friday to press ahead with their protest campaign against the LFO.
The incident, which seemed to be the most serious altercation in the assembly since it came into being in October, provoked an opposition charge that the government sought to introduce violence in their protest campaign and a demand for an apology from a minister who was accused of trying to attack a woman member.
But the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, Mohammad Raza Hayat Hiraj of PPP-Patriots, refused to apologize. He, in turn, demanded action against PPP’s Naheed Khan for allegedly using abusive language against him.
Parliamentary leaders of the parties grouped in the ARD and the MMA also accused President General Pervez Musharraf of instigating the ruling coalition members to resort to violence so that he could have an excuse to dissolve the assembly.
Some of them protested against what they described as an obscene gesture made by Sher Afgan Niazi of the PPP-Patriots during the opposition’s protest at the start of the session.
The ruling coalition, led by the PML-Q, continued the business of the house for more than an hour amid the second opposition walkout since Wednesday before the assembly was adjourned until 5.30pm on Monday.
Immediately after the recitation from the holy Quran at the start of Friday’s session, opposition members stood up and began chanting “No LFO, no” and “Go Musharraf, go” along with desk thumping. The session had started late by more than an hour.
Tempers seemed to run high as Kanwar Khalid Younus of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement from Karachi sought to raise a discussion on a Swiss magistrate’s recent verdict against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in a money-laundering case.
Amid opposition’s protest that culminated with the walkout, some ruling coalition members, including Mr Hiraj, Mr Afgan and Sardar Mohammad Nasrullah Dareshak of the PML-Q, supported the move and accused the opposition of running away from a discussion on the verdict.
As the opposition members were staging the walkout, Mr Hiraj was seen exchanging hot words with Naheed Khan. Some opposition members came in to block his way from going close to her. Mr Hiraj was then led back to his seat by another ruling coalition member.
Members from both sides angrily pointed fingers at one another but their remarks were inaudible in the press gallery because of the slogan-chanting that had become louder by then. Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain ignored a suggestion to replay the recording of the proceedings to fix responsibility for the incident.
At a joint opposition news conference later, ARD parliamentary leader and PML-N acting president Javed Hashmi accused the government of trying to turn “our peaceful protest” into violence.
“Today one (government) member tried to attack a lady member but other opposition members formed into a wall to protect her,” he said.
Mr Hashmi said the incident was part of a “conspiracy” hatched by Gen Musharraf at his Monday’s meeting with 40 ruling coalition members and added that an official statement had quoted the general as asking them to be more “proactive”.
PPP president Makhdoom Amin Fahim said the incident was part of a conspiracy hatched to provide an excuse for dissolving the assembly and demanded that the government should apologize for what he called misbehaviour by Mr Hiraj.
“If the government attacks our members’ honour, it will be responsible for the consequences,” he said.
MMA leaders Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Liaquat Baloch and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed and PPP secretary-general Raja Pervez Ashraf supported the demand for an apology while PML-N MNA Tehmina Daultana demanded Mr Hiraj’s resignation.
“We are not wearing bangles and will give reply to them,” she said, adding “their fight now directed at women”.
When a reporter pointed out to Ms Daultana that she was actually wearing bangles, she immediately removed two gold bangles from her right hand and said she would not wear them until an action was taken against Mr Hiraj.
As the opposition leaders blasted him outside, Mr Hiraj rose to move a privilege motion in the house against Ms Khan who, according to him, had insulted the ruling coalition members a third time.
“Her language was not only derogatory but also insulting and abusive,” Mr Hiraj said, calling for action against Ms Khan for alleged breach of his own and the house’s privilege. He was supported by some other ruling coalition members.
The speaker advised Mr Hiraj to submit the motion in writing and said nobody had the right to insult the house.
But Ms Khan told reporters that she had said nothing to Mr Hiraj before he ran towards her. “It was only when he came to attack me that I said I will slap you...,” she elaborated.
PPP members have often greeted their former party colleagues who defected to PPP-Patriots as lotas, and Mr Hiraj and Mr Afgan, whom MMA’s Hafiz Hussain Ahmed accused of making an “immoral gesture” with his hand, had been the usual targets.
Mr Afgan denied making any such gesture at a news conference later where Mr Hiraj said he would not resign as he had not done any wrong.
