Lawmakers from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) and other opposition parties walked out of the National Assembly on Thursday after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused PTI leader Ayesha Gulalai of electricity theft.

"Thieves are protesting loadshedding," Asif said targetting Gulalai, who had led a protest against the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) in Peshawar a day earlier.

"Does asking for your rights amount to thievery?" Gulalai hit back in response.

"Money is taken from the country's people in every budget for electricity, and yet you continue to remain unable to provide electricity," Gulalai said.

PTI's chief whip Shireen Mazari, in return called Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif a thief, prompting slogans against the government.

The opposition leader, Khurshid Shah, also jumped into the fray, saying: "There is a lot of electricity theft happening in Lahore as well, why does nobody see that?"

"Electricity theft is prevalent all over the country; should we cut off everyone's supply?" the leader of opposition asked.

"If we call each other thieves, we do not need external enemies," Shah added, saying the matter could be resolved if Asif revoked his comments.

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq expunged Asif's remarks and warned Mazari from making comments against other members of the assembly.

Leaders of the PPP and the Jamaat-i-Islami then joined the PTI in walking out of the Assembly in protest.

Fata's 'mainstreaming'

Earlier during the session, the opposition leader had said a member of the Assembly had threatened chaos in Senate if the Fata merger bill was accepted.

"This person has spoken to the prime minister and stopped the bill [from being accepted]," Shah claimed.

"This bill is a very important constitutional amendment," he said, adding that on one hand the government "gives a lolipop to Fata, while on the other it tries to stop the bill."

PTI senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi asserted that FATA is a part of Pakistan and should be brought under the country's jurisdiction.