• Ayaz Sadiq slams Alvi for returning electoral reforms bill, Imran for attacking institutions
• Issue of fertiliser shortage echoes in NA

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Monday declared on the floor of the National Assembly in categorical terms that the coalition government would not succumb to any “blackmailing” tactics by PTI chairman Imran Khan for holding of general election in the country before time.

“If he [Imran Khan] thinks that he can get elections from us through blackmailing and by putting pistol on our forehead then it will not happen,” said the minister while speaking on a point of order as the lower house of parliament met after a two-day recess to resume a general debate on the federal budget.

The minister, who has also been assigned the additional responsibility of assisting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on political and parliamentary affairs, took the floor to “condemn” President Dr Arif Alvi over his act of returning the electoral reforms bill to parliament without his assent.

“We used to consider him [Dr Alvi] a democratic and a fair person,” said Mr Sadiq, asking Dr Alvi to become president of Pakistan, instead of the PTI.

Mr Sadiq, who belongs to the ruling PML-N, said the president should make decisions in line with the country’s laws and Constitution and not take dictations from the PTI chairman.

He also ridiculed the president over his objections to the electoral reforms bill which the government had passed to repeal the changes made by the PTI government in the election laws regarding the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and i-voting for overseas Pakistanis.

The PML-N stalwart said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was a major stakeholder and it had already expressed its reservations over the use of EVMs and i-voting. Moreover, he recalled, Dr Alvi was also a member of the parliamentary committee that had held 117 meetings on the issue and he had even visited two countries to observe EVMs.

Similarly, he said, former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar had also issued an order overriding the Constitution for allowing overseas Pakistanis to vote through internet. The trial run, however, remained a failure, he added.

After attacking the president, Mr Sadiq turned his guns towards former prime minister Imran Khan and castigated him for allegedly attacking the country’s institutions like army, judiciary and ECP. He said Mr Khan wanted to see the institutions working at his whims which was not possible.

The PML-N leader accused the former prime minister of running the country’s economy during the last nearly four-year rule and violating the Constitution only for prolonging his rule after tabling of the no-confidence resolution against him.

Mr Sadiq asked Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to write a letter to the government, asking it to initiate legal proceedings against Imran Khan over his controversial remarks during a TV interview in which he had talked about the country’s disintegration and destruction of the armed forces.

The PML-N leader had taken the floor after a number of lawmakers, particularly Nawab Sher of the PTI, complained about the shortage of fertiliser in Punjab. The minister disclosed that the Ministry of Industries had decided to install trackers on the trucks carrying bags of fertiliser and movement of each bag would be monitored through geo-fencing.

Earlier, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar informed the house that ships carrying fertiliser bags from China would soon arrive in the country after which the shortage issue would be resolved.

Meanwhile, the lawmakers approved a motion moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi for the use of assembly hall for a briefing of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security either on Tuesday (today) or any other day and time.

Later, taking part in the budget debate, the lawmakers underlined the need for increasing the revenue generation by imposing taxes on imports of luxury goods and non-productive items used by the privileged class.

Aliya Kamran of JUI-F suggested a reduction in the salaries of government officers above grade-18, army officers and judges.

PML-N’s Tahira Bokhari alleged that due to maladministration and negligence of the previous PTI government, inflation in the country touched new heights and now it ranked fourth in the world. She called for trial of Imran Khan on treason charges.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2022