ISLAMABAD: Instead of supervising the proceedings of the house that had elected him only a day earlier, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq chose instead to call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at his office, leaving the lower house of parliament in the hands of the deputy speaker yet again.

Murtaza Javed Abbasi had been presiding over National Assembly proceedings in Mr Sadiq’s absence, and he remained in the chair all through Tuesday as well.

The speaker meanwhile, according to a statement issued by the PM’s Office, was discussing “matters pertaining to parliamentary affairs” with the PM.

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Mr Sadiq’s absence from the session drew the ire of PkMAP chief and government ally, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who was also furious at the empty chairs in the front rows, which are meant for federal ministers.

“If the Senate chairman across the hall can run the house in an orderly and efficient manner, why can’t the National Assembly speaker do the same? [Delays in the] beginning of National Assembly proceedings have become routine, rendering this house completely redundant.”

Achakzai assails govt for not discussing key defence, foreign policy issues in parliament

On Tuesday, the National Assembly was scheduled to commence proceedings at 10.30am, but they began closer to 11am.

The PkMAP chief praised Raza Rabbani and said the deputy speaker could learn a few things from him. “If the speaker is unable to start the house on time and ensure the presence of ministers, I will not attend the session of the National Assembly.”

Mr Achakzai didn’t stop there and took the federal government to task for bypassing parliament over important issues. “The country is witnessing a dangerous situation; there are reports of Daesh’s presence in the region. What’s happening in Afghanistan and Syria where Russia has involved itself militarily? The PM recently visited America and now the army chief is set to embark upon a trip to the US. All this is happening, but nobody is coming here and taking the house into confidence.”

If the government wants to run its defence and foreign policies through hand-picked advisers, then what’s the use of this parliament, he asked. “Do we come here just to draw salaries,” Mr Achakzai asked, rhetorically.

He also criticised the government’s economic policies.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2015