ISLAMABAD: A day after a controversial move to block the passage of the State Bank of Pakistan (Am­e­ndment) bill, moved by a PTI lawmaker, acting Senate Chairman Syedaal Khan Nasar on Tuesday sus­pended three PTI lawmakers for the current session.

The decision followed hullabaloo over Mr Nasar’s move to withhold the result of a vote count on Monday, on a motion seeking the immediate consideration of Senator Mohsin Aziz’s bill. The bill had already been passed by the Senate Standing Committee on Finance.

Syedaal Khan annou­nced the decision before abruptly adjourning the House to meet on Friday, just after Question Hour, while a noisy protest by the opposition saw calls for his resignation.

He also ordered the sergeant-at-arms to expel senators Aon Abbas Buppi, Humayun Moh­mand and Falak Naz from the House. These members are considered suspended for the remaining sittings of the (ongoing) session, the acting chairman said after taking a sense of the Senate thro­ugh a voice vote, and rep­eated his words even after adjourning the House.

He said the House could not be run on anyone’s wishes and personal agenda.

The PTI senators, while demanding Mr Nasar’s resignation, also tore up copies of the agenda and tossed them in the air.

Earlier, the Senate witnessed non-stop pandemonium during Question Hour, with PTI members chanting slogans, including “bring back Gilani”.

It may be recalled that Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has not chaired a single sitting in the current session after production orders for PTI’s Ejaz Chaudhry, issued by him, were not implemented.

At the outset of Tuesday’s sitting, the acting chairman said that some members of the opposition were violating sanctity of the House and challenging the authority of the chair through “inappropriate” language.

Three members of the opposition used inappropriate language during the previous day’s sitting, he claimed, and urged the leaders of the house and the opposition to help find a solution to this issue.

He ruled that the bill seeking to amend the SBP Act had been deferred, because the government objected that it conflicted with Article 74 of the Constitution.

The leader of the opposition in the House, Shibli Faraz, disagreed with the chair’s remarks and said the bill was considered in the House for voting after passing through necessary checks and the result of the count could not be withheld under the rules of business.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in his response said the chair had shown tolerance and explained the issue while showing a big heart.

“We are all answerable to public. People look at us for the resolution of their issues,” he said, urging the opposition not to disrupt the proceedings during the question hour session.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2025