ISLAMABAD: Treasury and opposition members in the National Assembly on Thursday kept on taunting each other for their ambivalence towards the extremist forces in the past for short-term political gains, but at the same time agreed on cooperation in tackling the prevailing tense situation in the country due to the nationwide protests by various religious groups against the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Aasia Bibi case.

At the outset, Speaker Asad Qaiser suspended the normal agenda for the day’s sitting to allow the members to hold a debate on the situation which has emerged after the Supreme Court’s verdict in the nine-year-old blasphemy case.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that they were expecting that the prime minister would come here and say what he said last night.

Delay in announcement of SC verdict questioned

“What steps are being taken to maintain law and order? What steps are being taken to protect our judges? What steps are being taken to protect Aasia Bibi?” he asked.

PPP leader Khursheed Shah criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan for not coming to the house to take them into confidence over the government’s strategy to end the nation’s ordeal due to road blockades and suspension of train service.

He said the prime minister should have come to the parliament before leaving for China on an official visit.

Mr Shah “condemned” the prime minister’s address to the nation on Wednesday evening, saying that his body language and tone was aggressive.

“The religion card which you (PTI) used against the previous government is now being used against you,” said PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique, adding that “no one wants to take political benefit from the present situation”.

“Today you are saying that blocking roads is not a good action. And only in the recent past, you were announcing dates for blocking roads and lockdowns. If you cannot apologise then you should at least feel ashamed,” Mr Rafique said in an apparent reference to the PTI’s protest against the PML-N government over the Panama Papers issue.

He said Asif Zardari and Shahbaz Sharif had extended support to the government to bring the country out of the mess and for the sake of democracy, but it should not be considered their weakness as they were not afraid of jails.

The PML-N leader said the people had the right to protest over the courts’ verdicts but the narrative of the leadership of the protesters could not be accepted by any sane person.

Another PML-N leader Rana Sana­ul­lah questioned the inordinate delay in the Aasia Bibi case which also resulted in the murder of then Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer.

“Had this case been decided in 2010 or 2011, the religious sentiments of the people would not have been so high,” he opined, asking the political leadership to sit together and analyse the past policies of first patronising Mujahideen and then declaring them terrorists.

Responding to the opposition’s spee­ches, the government ministers termed the prime minister’s address “bold and brave”, saying that he had given a clear message that there would be no compromise on the rule of law and supremacy of law.

“This is the message that this House also needs to convey to the whole world,” said Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi.

“In the past, religion was used for political purposes and to malign each other. This will not happen in Naya Pakistan,” he claimed.

The speaker administered oath to newly-elected MNA and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2018