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• Speaking on ‘anniversary’ of no-trust motion, Omar Ayub hits out at govt ‘excesses’
• Tallal Chaudhry recalls RTS fiasco of 2018, accuses PTI of coming to power through rigging
• Minister admits women being denied inheritance rights despite legal protections
ISLAMABAD: Barbs flew in the National Assembly over the removal of Imran Khan led-PTI government, exactly three years ago, with the opposition terming the no-trust motion against the then-PM “engineered”, while the government accused the PTI of coming into power through poll-rigging.
Speaking on a point of order, Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub Khan said a “regime-change operation” was launched in Pakistan three years ago, alleging that the PDM sent home a democratically-elected government through an “engineered” no-confidence motion.
In his remarks, which were not live-streamed on the NA’s official social media channels, the opposition leader said those who had no public support were ruling the country and were re-installed after ‘farcical’ delayed elections.
Referring to the recently-coined term of “hard state”, he said there must be a legitimate government to run the affairs of such a state as well.
Pointing towards the treasury benches, Mr Ayub dubbed them all “products of rigging”.
“I salute members of my party who managed to reach the House while combating rigging; they are still facing the barbarism of Punjab Police,” he said.
Talking about country’s economic situation, the opposition leader said that it was on free fall as credit of the private sector had surged to Rs2,000 billion, while the development budget was not being utilised. He said that his party condemns terrorism, including the attack on Jaffar Express, but questioned who was responsible for it.
He also questioned why reports of the Abbottabad Commission, Gen Zia’s plane crash and the attack on the Salala Check Post were not made public.
He also assailed the police action against Imran Khan’s sisters, and alleged that speeches of opposition members were missing from the National Assembly’s record.
Omar Ayub also termed reduction in electricity tariff “a mere drama”, saying that prices were increased from Rs 17 per unit to Rs 85 per unit.
Responding to the allegations, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said the no-trust motion against Imran Khan was passed by the House with a majority vote and the exercise was constitutional by all means.
He also alleged that the PTI government had come to power as a result of massive rigging and referred to the RTS fiasco to substantiate his claim. “Had the RTS not collapsed in 2018, they were not even able to win elections of the municipal corporation”, he remarked.
Women denied rights
A highlight of the day’s proceedings was an admission by a federal minister that women continue to be deprived of their share in inheritance. “Though laws and mechanisms exist, the problem unfortunately still persists”, Minister of State for Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani said, while responding to a calling attention notice.
He said an improvement had been witnessed in the recent past but there was a lot more that needs to be done. “This is not just the case of having laws and implementing them. This is a larger societal issue”, he remarked. He said everybody, including religious scholars, need to play their role in effectively addressing the issue.
He said the judiciary also has a key role to play, pointing out that many women either do not getinheritance rights or face long delays because of stays granted by courts. Mr Kayani cited Quranic injunctions and emphasised that both Islamic teachings and the Constitutional provisions which guarantee equality before the law — explicitly prohibit gender-based discrimination and protect women’s inheritance rights.
Responding to another calling attention notice, Parliamentary Secretary for Finance and Revenue Saad Waseem Sheikh informed the House that the federal government had so far provided over Rs600 billion to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for the development of the newly-merged tribal districts. He said this amount has been provided to provincial authorities other than KP’s share in the NFC award.
As many as six bills were introduced in the House. These included the The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2025, The Orbit Institute of Management and Technology Bill, 2025, The Right to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2025, The Al-Biruni International University Bill, 2025, The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and The Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2025
