ISLAMABAD: The lower house of parliament witnessed lacklustre proceedings on Friday, with only three federal ministers in attendance, after two days of bustling National Assembly sessions to approve the proclamation of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
While it was expected that senior government and opposition leaders would continue their heated speeches on the proclamation of emergency and governor’s rule, not a single MNA from either side of the aisle spoke on the matter.
The proceedings began at 11.35am, over half an hour behind schedule, with around 50 to 60 MNAs — including Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry from the treasury benches and fewer than 15 opposition members — present in the house.
Leader of the Opposition Mahmood Achakzai and the top PTI leadership were absent.
It was expected that the law minister would speak on the floor of the house if any opposition member raised the issue of emergency and governor’s rule in KP. However, as no lawmaker spoke on the matter, the law minister also remained silent.
The proclamation of emergency in KP was endorsed by the National Assembly and the Senate on Wednesday, while governor’s rule was approved by a joint sitting of the two houses on Thursday. All these sessions witnessed heavy attendance by lawmakers.
During Question Hour, the decline in tourism in Pakistan overshadowed proceedings when PPP MNA Dr Nafisa Shah raised the issue of the lack of interest shown by foreign tourists in visiting the country.
Referring to official figures, she said the highest number of foreign tourists came from Afghanistan, followed by the United Kingdom. “It is a big question that the highest number of tourists came from Afghanistan,” she added.
“Despite having a precious heritage and the more than 6,000-year-old Gandhara and Taxila civilisations, we have failed to attract foreign tourists and earn foreign exchange,” she noted.
In response, Parliamentary Secretary for Inter-Provincial Coordination Kiran Dar failed to satisfy the questioner and even Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah. The deputy speaker said the ministry could not distinguish between Afghan refugees and tourists.
The house was also informed that the number of qualified Pakistanis seeking immigration to foreign countries had declined significantly.
Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2026
