KARACHI: Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani on Monday referred to a select committee a privilege motion filed by female members of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party against the parliamentary party leader of opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for allegedly using inappropriate words against them.

However, no lawmaker belonging to three major opposition parties — the PTI, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Grand Democratic Alliance — agreed to be part of the select committee.

The privilege motion was signed by PPP lawmaker Faryal Talpur and other female members of the party. It was moved in the house by Heer Soho.

In the motion, the movers referred to a recent statement of Haleem Adil Shaikh outside the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan and said that the PTI lawmaker used “highly inappropriate and rough words that was not acceptable in the society at large and had seriously breached the privilege of PPP lawmakers”.

Opposition’s protest

When the PPP lawmaker moved the motion, several members belonging to the PTI and GDA stood and opposed it loudly. The chair asked them to listen to the mover but the plea did not impress them.

Ms Soho said the opposition lawmakers had the habit to get in the way whenever a treasury lawmaker spoke with the permission of the chair.

She particularly used a word directed towards GDA’s Nusrat Sehar Abbasi for latter’s continuous “challenges”, which the chair expunged and later Ms Soho apologised. However, the GDA lawmaker objected to the use of the phrase and did not accept the PPP lawmaker’s apology.

The PTI, MQM-P and GDA refuse to be part of the house select committee

“The PTI member used abusive words against all of us last week, which are against our norms where women are highly respected,” said Ms Soho as several members on the opposition benches began thumping desks.

Opposition Leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi said the opposition’s protest was not against the privilege motion but against the use of “objectionable” word used by the PPP lawmaker during her speech.

Deputy Speaker Rehana Leghari said that the word had duly been expunged. Ms Soho again apologised upon which the opposition leader hushed his colleagues but the GDA member continued her protest.

The PPP lawmaker said the motion was not moved because such words had been used against PPP lawmakers, but “we’ll move similar motions whenever and whosoever would speak foul against women”.

She said Mr Shaikh should respect women and demanded that he should apologise for his “foul” language. “PTI leadership should have taken notice of its members who use such abusive words.”

PPP’s Shamim Mumtaz said the opposition member’s attitude had breached the privilege of all women.

She mentioned an earlier incident in which the PPP leadership had taken notice of abusive phrase used by a party lawmaker against a female opposition member and the member had unconditionally apologised.

She expressed her disappointment that female members on other side of the aisle were protesting against the privilege motion instead of supporting it.

MQM-P’s Khwaja Izharul Hasan tried to pacify the protesting lawmakers and said Mr Shaikh had apologised over the issue recently.

He said all women were respectable and all forms of abuse against them were unacceptable.

Mr Naqvi said he was there to apologise on behalf of Mr Shaikh.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Kumar expressed his agreement with the notions of Khwaja Izhar and Mr Naqvi, saying a consensus stance regarding the issue would send a positive message to everyone.

He said it was a sensitive issue because the PTI’s parliamentary party leader had simultaneously abused PPP’s female lawmakers and the party.

“Haleem Adil Shaikh should have to apologise in the house and there is no shame in accepting one’s mistake,” said Minister Chawla.

The PPP lawmakers demanded formation of a select committee to examine the privilege motion.

Mr Naqvi, however, said no one from his colleagues would become part of the select committee.

“If such a select committee is formed, then we’ll bring all that stuff in the house, which is in the vogue on social media,” he warned.

Mr Chawla requested the opposition leader that such people should not be protected as per traditions of Sindh.

Mr Naqvi said expletives had been used against the elected prime minister of the country that could easily merit a privilege motion as well. “Certain members used abusive words in the house, but we opted to ignore [it].”

The parliamentary affairs minister said the issue related to women and everyone needed to support it.

Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani said either the opposition leader did not comprehend the issue or was deliberately opting to stay away from it.

“The opposition leader is mixing things and avoiding discussing an issue which should be decided by the committee. [Select committee’s verdict] will not cancel his [Mr Shaikh’s] membership.”

Amid continuous protest from the opposition benches, Speaker Durrani formed a seven-member committee, which included two members from Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan and the sole lawmaker belonging to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal.

Members from the PTI, MQM-P and GDA refused to be part of the committee.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2019