PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan’s anti-parliament remarks sparked uproar in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday after a ruling party member repeated his leader’s words in the house.

The trouble began in the house after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha sought Speaker Asad Qaisar’s permission to allow him to move a resolution to condemn Imran’s diatribe against parliament.

In his opening remarks, the opposition member said the PTI chief had used ‘un-parliamentary’ language against parliament in the opposition rally held in Lahore.

He said parliament was an august institution.

Mr Nalotha said millions of people had elected their representatives as members of parliament and therefore, the chair should allow him to move a resolution to condemn the anti-parliament remarks of Imran, who was also a parliamentarian.

Speaker Asad Qaisar before allowing the PML-N member from Abbottabad to move his resolution asked MPA Zar Gul, who is the political adviser to the chief minister, to respond to the opposition’s complaint.

Speaker expunges PTI member’s similar remarks, adjourns sitting after opposition’s protest

Zar Gul, who belongs to Torghar district and was elected MPA from Kohistan district in the by-elections, justified Mr Imran’s words against parliament.

He said parliament had allowed a man disqualified by the Supreme Court to become an office-bearer or head of the party.

“Should not this parliament be…, which allowed a person to become the party’s chief despite the Supreme Court’s judgment,” he said.

Speaker Asad Qaisar expunged MPA Zar Gul Khan’s remarks about parliament.

The opposition benches demanded that the MPA withdraw derogatory words against parliament and tender apology.

Mr Zar Gul’s remarks irritated the opposition members, who began shouting at the treasury member.

“Shame on you, shame on you,” shouted Mehmood Bhittani of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl from Tank.

The protesting lawmakers rushed towards the speaker’s dice and began shouting slogans against the MPA and PTI chairman.

They demanded the speaker order the MPA to withdraw his words and seek apology.

Beleaguered Asad Qaisar ordered the staff members to expunge Zar Gul’s words and repeatedly urged the opposition members to resume seats to help him go ahead with the agenda.

The opposition however kept protesting prompting the speaker to adjourn the sitting until Feb 12.

The house didn’t pass the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Employees (Regularization of Services) Bill, 2018, meant to regularise the services of around 5,000 contractual employees working in different projects, including the foreign-funded ones, due to the abrupt adjournment of the sitting.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government (Amendment Ordinance, 2017, was tabled in the house. The house debated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Buildings (Management Control and Allotment) Bill, 2018.

The bill was in the approval stage after PPP MPA Fakhar Azam withdrew his proposed amendments to it after break.

Meanwhile, the assembly directed millers to purchase sugar at the rate of Rs180 per 40 kilogrammes.

Speaker Asad Qaisar gave the ruling while disposing of a call attention notice of PTI MPA Mehmood Jan.

Taking the floor on a calling attention notice, the PTI member said during the current session, he had presented a calling attention notice demanding the payment of Rs180 per 40 kilogrammes to sugarcane growers as millers were paying Rs165 for the sugarcane crop of the same weight.

He said the house had constituted a committee headed by the food minister and the committee had unanimously decided on the payment of Rs180 to growers for 40 kilogrammes sugarcane but the millers were not implementing the decision.

Responding to the calling attention notice, food minister Qalandar Khan Lodhi said the price of Rs180 per 40 kilogrammes sugarcane had been fixed across the country, while the Punjab and Sindh governments were also giving subsidies to their respective sugar mills but ironically, the KP government didn’t give any such relief to sugar mills in the province.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2018