• Syedal Khan Nasir lists Nawaz Sharif among them; threatens to suspend members who violate ruling
• ‘Flouts rules himself’ by prohibiting lawmaker from participating in session for pointing out quorum

ISLAMABAD: In a strange ruling that left many red-faced, Senate Deputy Chairman Syedal Khan Nasir on Thursday barred criticism of ‘national heroes’ and political leadership in the House.

“You cannot speak against political heroes who suffered martyrdom, went into exile, worked for the nation and the country, conducted nuclear tests, and made [the] nuclear bomb,” he remarked just after finishing the day’s agenda of Senate amid voices of dissent from the opposition benches.

The Senate deputy chairman asserted that he could place such a bar declaring that the House would now run under the law.

“Nobody can speak against institutions, national heroes and leaders of political parties,” he added.

When Awami National Party (ANP) chief Aimal Wali Khan asked as to who these “national heroes” were, Mr Nasir replied that they included former premiers Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, and Nawaz Sharif; nuclear scientist Dr A. Q. Khan; and all those who signed the 1973 Constitution.

“A handful of elements cannot hold the House hostage,” he said before abruptly adjourning the House to meet again on Friday (today).

Minutes earlier, Mr Nasir said he needed a minute to say something crucial and had assured a senator, who wanted to speak on a point of public importance, that he would be given time.

The Senate deputy chairman said maintaining dignity of the House was a shared responsibility and it was the chair’s job to run it in accordance with the rules.

He added that the chair had the power to issue a strict order for the sake of decorum of the House. “This also includes the power under Rule 246 to suspend a member obstructing proceedings of the House,” he continued.

Mr Nasir recalled that he had given a ruling to this effect on Feb 18 as well but regretted that certain members from the opposition benches were continuously disrupting proceedings of the House.

He warned that he would not refrain from taking extreme steps to smoothly run the proceedings, if the unruly conduct continued.

Without naming the PTI, the deputy chairman said he would write a letter to the parliamentary leader of the party, seeking instructions for their members to act as per law and the rules.

He expressed alarm over the practice of members gathering around the chair’s podium.

Mr Nasir stressed that the chair and its rulings must be respected.

The Senate deputy chairman, who stressed the need for running the proceedings as per the law and the rules, surprised many during the Question Hour, by punishing an opposition lawmaker for pointing out the quorum.

Prohibiting the opposition senator who had pointed out the quorum from participating in the session, Mr Nasir said: “This is my ruling”.

However, the ruling was seen by many as something against the rules provide and an established parliamentary practice.

Govt negligence

Earlier, during the Question Hour, PPP Senator Shahadat Awan regretted the delay in disbursement of postal life insurance claims to around 34,000 individuals including widows and orphans, terming it a failure on the part of the government his party was allied with.

Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan candidly conceded that it was indeed the government’s incompetence and “negligence” that disbursement under the Postal Life Insurance Company Limited (PLICL) could not be delivered to the people on time.

The minister also agreed with Mr Awan that as per the Insurance Ordinance, 2000, the PLICL was liable to pay liquidated damages for delays beyond 90 days, calculated at monthly base with a 5 per cent additional rate over the prevailing base rate.

“This escalating financial exposure underscores the immediate need for additional budgetary allocation,” the minister noted, holding the finance ministry responsible for it.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2025