NA speaker adjourns sitting after noisy treasury members refuse to pay heed

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif's speech in the National Assembly was interrupted by noisy protest by treasury benches. — DawnNewsTV screengrab
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif's speech in the National Assembly was interrupted by noisy protest by treasury benches. — DawnNewsTV screengrab

The parliament was adjourned unceremoniously on Monday after members of the treasury, including ministers, continued to create a ruckus in the National Assembly despite repeated warnings from the speaker.

The ongoing National Assembly session is meant to debate over the proposed budget that was announced by Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar last week. When Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif started to speak, members of government created chaos in the Lower House, drowning out his voice.

Sharif refused to be silenced by the noise and called Prime Minister Imran Khan the "biggest liar in the country's history". The PML-N president said that his party had managed to resuscitate the economy and improve the security situation during its tenure.

Speaker Asad Qaiser repeatedly directed the noisy government members to stay quiet but to no avail, following which he adjourned the sitting until 4pm on Tuesday.

Similar scenes were witnessed in the house on Friday as well when treasury members interrupted Sharif's speech by constantly creating disturbances. Later, Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had admitted that it was a planned move by the treasury benches to prevent Mr Sharif from delivering his speech to give a befitting reply to the opposition that had created a ruckus in the house at the time of the presentation of the budget.

Protests and meetings

Earlier, PPP senators held a sit-in outside the speaker's office to protest against the non-issuance of production orders of the party's co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, who is currently under the custody of the National Accountability Bureau.

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari meets JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence. Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf (L) and JUI-F's Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri (R) also attended the meeting. — Photo courtesy: Javed Hussain
PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari meets JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence. Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf (L) and JUI-F's Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri (R) also attended the meeting. — Photo courtesy: Javed Hussain

Meanwhile, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari visited the house of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl's chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to discuss future strategy of opposition parties.

Speaking to the media after their meeting, both Bilawal and Rehman termed the proposed budget as "anti-people" and the former vowed that the opposition will not allow it to pass.

Rehman lamented that the government had turned the country into "economic slaves" and had proposed a budget that was "drawn up by an IMF (International Monetary Fund) representative".

Opinion

Editorial

AJK elections
29 Jul, 2026

AJK elections

CONSIDERING the political unrest that has rocked Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the recent past, free and fair general...
Still vulnerable
29 Jul, 2026

Still vulnerable

THE State Bank’s decision to hold the policy rate at 11.5pc is a prudent response to the heightened risks the...
Guarding the past
29 Jul, 2026

Guarding the past

THE return of 513 smuggled archaeological artefacts from the US is a welcome homecoming for objects that should ...
Lull in fighting
Updated 28 Jul, 2026

Lull in fighting

AFTER two weeks of escalating violence, the US has halted its strikes on Iran, with Tehran also silencing it guns....
Water policy
28 Jul, 2026

Water policy

THE country is caught in a crisis where there too much water at the wrong time and too little when it is most ...
Ending hepatitis
28 Jul, 2026

Ending hepatitis

WORLD Hepatitis Day is being observed under the theme ‘Hepatitis: Let’s break it down’, a call to remove the...