ISLAMABAD:
Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai and National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq exchanged sharp remarks during the National Assembly’s budget session on Wednesday, while JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman called for restraint amid rising tensions in the house.
Speaking on the floor of the house, Achakzai, who also leads an opposition parties’ alliance TTAP, criticized the speaker for responding to his speech a day earlier.
“You are the speaker and it is not your role to respond to our speeches,” Achakzai said, adding that he would reply to the speaker’s remarks within the bounds of parliamentary decorum.
Referring to comments made about one of his speeches, Achakzai said he had delivered the address in Pashto at Chaman and suggested that someone familiar with the language should be tasked with interpreting it.
“I had said there is neither law nor justice available and that people should resolve their disputes through local jirgas and panchayats,” he said. Achakzai said his party would support the government if it worked for the welfare of poor people but would oppose it if it resorted to repression.
“If you serve the poor, we will support you. If you shoot people and put them in jail, we will oppose you,” he said. Addressing the broader political situation, the opposition leader called for strengthening constitutionalism and democracy.
“If there is truly a constitution and democracy in the country, then let us declare those judges national heroes who resigned in opposition to dictatorship,” he said.
He also proposed that judges who took oath under Provisional Constitutional Orders (PCOs) during military rule should be declared violators of the Constitution.
“Let us make an agreement to free this Parliament,” he added.
Achakzai said his criticism was not directed against the armed forces and insisted that he wanted to prevent the military from becoming controversial. He remarked that if the establishment allowed parliament to function strictly in accordance with the Constitution, he would publicly appreciate him.
Expressing disappointment over the speaker’s remarks made during the previous sitting, he warned against further provocation. “I was saddened by your comments yesterday as speaker. Do not provoke us, otherwise you will face difficulties,” he said.
Responding to the opposition leader’s criticism, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq rejected allegations that he had acted in violation of the Constitution. He said he had left the PTI in 1998 and joined the PML-N on February 1, 2001, when the party was in opposition.
Meanwhile, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman urged both sides to exercise patience and avoid escalating tensions. “A lot of emotional statements have been made in the House. This is a time for tolerance and restraint,” he said.
Addressing the speaker directly, Fazl remarked that he too had spoken emotionally during the previous sitting. “Speaker sahib, you also made emotional remarks yesterday, which you should not have made,” he said.
