A view of the National Assembly. —File Photo

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly turned into a virtual battleground on Thursday when members from the Pakistan Muslim League-N and Muttahida Qaumi Movement lunged at each other after exchanging harsh words and abuses.

Some of the members were seen throwing books and documents at each other and were about to indulge in a physical fight when senior legislators from the PPP and PML-N intervened and stopped the situation from deteriorating.

It all started when Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who had initially taken the floor to oppose the government’s move to present the controversial Defence Housing Authority Bill, 2007, started heaping scorn on the MQM terming it a “fascist and terrorist party with a militant wing and involved in extortion”. He said there had been no-go areas in Karachi.

“We will not let anyone bully us and will expose MQM’s true face not only in the assembly, but outside parliament and even in Karachi,” Chaudhry Nisar said while referring to the Supreme Court’s Oct 6 verdict in the suo motu case on the law and order situation in Karachi and allegations levelled against the MQM by former provincial home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza. He said after the SC verdict the MQM owed a reply to the nation about its involvement in terrorism and extortion.

The session was presided over by Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi in the absence of Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza, who left for Albania as head of a parliamentary delegation.

Chaudhry Nisar harshly criticised MQM’s leaders for using “derogatory and abusive” language in their speeches in the assembly on Monday without caring that the house was being presided over by the wife of Dr Mirza. “I must appreciate the speaker for tolerating all such things against her husband,” he said.

The house turned into a fish market when MQM’s members who had been taking a verbal attack from the PML-N leader for up to 25 minutes got infuriated and stood up as soon as he threatened to tackle them physically.

“They blurt out whatever comes in their minds. If they cross the line again and use unparliamentary language then our hands will be around their necks,” he said, only to invite the wrath of MQM’s members sitting to his right.

An exchange of harsh words took place between MQM’s MNA Sajid Ahmed and PML-N’s Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali after which a number of members from both sides started raising slogans. Sensing that the members could indulge in a physical fight when MQM’s Waseem Akhtar, Asif Hasnain and Sajid Ahmed charged towards Abid Sher Ali and Hanif Abbasi, senior PPP members, including Ministers Syed Khursheed Shah and Rehman Malik and PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal intervened and disengaged the enraged legislators.

It took several MNAs to hold a furious Abid Sher Ali back after he had climbed onto a desk apparently to hurl himself on Sajid Ahmad.

After a brief interruption, the deputy speaker again gave the floor to Chaudhry Nisar. He alleged that the MQM had used parliament for political point scoring and passed derogatory remarks against Zulfikar Mirza instead of replying to the serious allegations levelled by the former minister against it.

He asked the deputy speaker to hold a debate on the allegations and give an opportunity to the former Sindh minister to prove his charges in the house. “Zulfikar Mirza’s oath on the holy Quran obliges us at least to listen to the charges he has levelled.”

Chaudhry Nisar said the people of Karachi could not be fooled by “gimmicks like singing songs on TV”.

He stated the prime minister kept declaring that there were no political prisoners in the country and he must tell as to who was Afaq Ahmed (MQM-H leader).

MQM’s Asif Hasnain alleged that the PML-N was trying to cripple the parliament by targeting a party out of frustration because it was facing political isolation. The MQM member said his party would also support the demand for an investigation into the charges levelled against it by Zulfikar Mirza.

He said the MQM was silent because the onus of proving the allegations was on the former minister.

He also criticised the Punjab government for its failure to control the dengue epidemic and recover the kidnapped son of slain governor Salman Taseer.

The MNA said the opposition had been threatening to physically block the passage of the bill, betraying undemocratic mindset.

Mr Hasnain again passed some objectionable remarks against Zulfikar Mirza which the deputy speaker expunged from the proceedings.

The deputy speaker also announced that he would expunge the un-parliamentary words used during Monday’s proceedings.

PML-Q’s Raza Hiraj called for constituting a parliamentary committee to look into the allegations levelled by Zulfikar Mirza against the MQM.

DHA BILL: Earlier, the leader of the opposition warned the house that the PML-N would never allow the government to present, what he called, the unconstitutional DHA bill and said it would even “physically block” the approval.

“… and not just constitutional violations but the bill extends preferential treatment to a private housing society of the country’s biggest land mafia,” he said.

He regretted that a democratic government was bringing a bill which even military dictators like Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf could not dare present in the assemblies.

Chaudhry Nisar said if the government tried to bulldoze the bill then there could be a situation like the ones in parliaments in Japan and South Korea. “If the government wants it, we are ready,” he said.

Later, Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Shah announced deferment of the bill and said it would be brought again after consultation with the opposition on Monday.

He deplored the exchange of harsh words among members belonging to PML-N and MQM and called for unity and harmony instead of indulging in blame-game and conflicts. “We should respect each other and make democracy stronger instead of giving an excuse to the opponents of democracy to derail it.”

US SUPPORT: During his speech, Chaudhry Nisar also asked the government to come out with a reply to a report in the international press saying that only a week after the May 2 Abbottabad operation in which Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces’ personnel, President Asif Ali Zardari had reached out to the Obama administration asking it to stop the military from staging a coup.

Quoting from the report, he alleged that the president had promised to the US that he would change the military command in the country. The opposition leader said there had been no denial from the presidency after the report.