Treasury senator votes with opposition: Cut in defence budget
By Arshad Sharif
ISLAMABAD, June 13: The treasury members were up in arms against Senator Mohim Khan Baloch of the Balochistan National Party (BNP-Awami) after he voted with the opposition for a cut in the defence budget in the Senate on Monday. Senator Baloch stood up to register his protest for not being allowed to speak on repeated requests and later voted with the opposition.
The revolt from the treasury’s senator was not well taken by the ruling party’s chief whip, the minister for parliamentary affairs and Senator Gulshan Saeed who asked the acting chairman, Senator Khalid Ranjha, to direct Mr Baloch to sit on the opposition benches.
The ruling party chief whip, Senator Kamil Ali Agha, said: “We will not allow him to sit here. He violates the party discipline.”
Sensing the opportunity, Leader of the Opposition, Raza Rabbani, said, Mr Baloch was welcome on the opposition benches.
The minister for parliamentary affairs, Dr Sher Afgan, asked the acting chairman to change the seat of Mr Baloch in accordance with the suggestion of the chief whip.
Senator Gulshan Saeed said the party could not fulfil the demands of Senator Baloch as he was blackmailing the government and wanted to be a minister.
As Senator Mohim Khan Baloch listened to the tirade against his person without responding, the acting chairman reserved his ruling on the matter and said it would be dealt later.
Later, Senator Professor Khursheed Ahmed of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal gave a word of advice for the treasury benches and said the party’s internal matters should not be discussed on the floor of the House.
Earlier in the day, another verbal duel had taken place between chief whip Senator Kamil Ali Agha and Senator Baloch after the latter threatened to walk out when he said the state minister for interior did not address his concerns regarding arrests in Balochistan.
The chair termed Senator Baloch’s concerns about the arrests as a provincial subject.
“If you want to go, you can go,” shouted Senator Agha while standing near the chair of Senator Baloch.
After some time, Senator Baloch staged a token walkout and again came back to the House.
