In impassioned NA speech, Bilawal warns govt of perils of ‘political witch-hunt’

ISLAMABAD: Expressing his frustration with the deep-seated culture of political witch-hunting and character-assassination, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Wednesday warned that if the government’s primary focus was on who was next in the line for jail, it might bring them a momentary satisfaction, but tomorrow they would all be facing the music.

Speaking in the National Assembly, he said if the opposition continued to curse, cry and act below the belt, they won’t be able to hold the government accountable. “If they claim the government’s economic or security policies are flawed, they must also propose solutions,” he said.

Bilawal said failure to fulfill their responsibilities meant the opposition would not achieve its objectives. “While it is expected of the opposition to raise the issue of their imprisoned leaders, the more pressing issues of the people they govern include unemployment, inflation, education, health and terrorism,” he said. He also suggested the speaker to constitute a high-powered committee to help restore the functionality of the House.

Referring to the students seated in the galleries, the PPP chairman asked what the country’s future might be thinking about the future of the country. “Not many of them would aspire to become politicians but being a member of the House is a matter of prestige and honour in any democratic country. Politics has become a curse, but it is the same politics that will bring employment to youth, economic justice to people and govern the country. The country is currently facing multiple crises, but when today’s children grow up, they will lead the region,” he said.

Bilawal highlighted that if the KP chief minister cursed the media and used his own government to initiate vindictive actions against the Anti-Terrorism Court judges, he was not addressing the issues of the people of his province. He recalled that during Imran Khan’s tenure as prime minister, the PPP did not harbour any personal grudges against him.

“Our only concern was protecting the Constitution and democracy, for which my family and party sacrificed, and to solve problems of people. This was the reason for the signing of CoD between Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif,” said the PPP supreme leader.

Previously, he said the election commissioner was appointed by the government, but their amendments allowed the opposition leader to play his role in the process, as was the case with the appointment of the interim government. “This understanding stemmed from the realisation that both sides must work together for the country’s prosperity. Personal grievances, such as who jailed whom, must be set aside in favor of serving the people in parliament,” he said.

Bilawal said he also criticized the government where necessary; however, it is now time to evaluate the government’s performance on key issues. He pointed out that while the government’s target was to reduce inflation to 12 percent, the rate had already dropped to 9.6 percent, with the year yet to end. “While we have criticised the government’s economic policies, the House should commend the reduction in inflation and now everyone must give their input.”

He further said from 2008 to 2013, the government operated with consensus, engaging with the same opposition responsible for keeping his father in jail for over a decade. “They developed a revolutionary, consensus-based document that strengthened all constitutional institutions,” he said. He said a lobby existed against this consensus, seeking to undermine it to create more space for anti-democratic forces. “One such effort took shape under Justice (retd) Iftikhar Chaudhry, and another involved intelligence officers backing a political party, pushing the political system to a point where even basic cooperation was elusive. This is playing with the destinies of future generations,” he said.

He urged Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to restore the functionality of the House, as a functional parliament was essential for a functional country. He expressed disappointment over the resignation of a senior politician, particularly one who had played a significant role in the politics of Balochistan. “All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing,” Bilawal said over Akhtar Mengal’s decision to resign, and emphasized the need for all members to take responsibility. He reminded the House that during the PDM government tenure, he had advised against boycotting the assemblies. “Now, both the opposition and the country are suffering as a result,” he said.

Bilawal said the responsibility of parliament was not only to legislate but to also create a conducive environment. “The cycle of political rallies against one another must end, and the focus should shift toward serving the people and safeguarding their rights,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile, in a move signaling parliamentary supremacy, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq Wednesday suspended the sergeant-at-arms and security staff for failing to block the entry of personnel who arrested parliamentarians from the House Monday night.

As the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto and government ministers recalled the Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed between Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto and later ratified by other parties, the speaker also advocated for reaching the Charter of Parliament between the government and opposition in the better interest of parliamentary democracy.

The members were unanimous that there would be no compromise on the sanctity of the House.

However, Defence Minister Khawaja, while supporting the production orders of detained MNAs, regretted that no opposition member had condemned the use of indecent language in the PTI’s public meeting.

As an outcome of Monday’s incident, the House also adopted a motion for the constitution of a special committee comprising 16 members to discuss the Constitution and National Assembly’s rules for smooth functioning of parliament.

“I have started from the top, not from the bottom, and have suspended sergeant-at-arms, who is overall security in charge and other security staff who did not resist the entry of people. What happened is not acceptable,” said Ayaz Sadiq.

The suspended officials are Sergeant at Arms Muhammad Ishfaq Ashraf, Security Assistant Waqas Ahmed and junior security officers Obaidullah, Waheed Safdar and Muhammad Haroon.

Ayaz also made a mention of rejection of requests for production of Shehbaz Sharif and other parliamentarians in the House during the PTI government tenure and said if non-issuance of production orders during the PTI government was not the right thing, it was also not the right thing now. “I will InshaAllah do what is appropriate and what is necessary for the dignity of parliament and will try to go to depth of the incident,” the speaker said.

He also made a mention of a request made on December 17, 2018 for issuing the production orders of the then MNA Khawaja Saad Rafique. “As far as this request, it does not constitute sufficient grounds for issuance of production order,” said the letter produced by the speaker in the House along with two other documents.

The same also happened in response to the requests for issuing the production orders of Shehbaz Sharif, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif and other PMLN parliamentarians during the PTI government’s tenure.

Ayaz also quoted a letter from the Ministry of Law during the PTI government saying that the speaker may exercise his discretion by not issuing the production orders in question. He also quoted another response from the Ministry of Law in 2019 which stated that the request for production order did not mention the reasons for attending the session; therefore, there was no sufficient ground for acceptance of the same.

However, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan requested the chair to issue the production orders of 10 members of PTI who were arrested from the Parliament House.

The House also adopted a motion — moved by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar — for constitution of a special committee by the speaker comprising 16 members from the government and opposition benches and the Ministry for Parliamentary Affairs. The special committee will discuss, analyze and firm up recommendations about the issues related to parliament, parliamentarians, Constitution, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 2007 and smooth functioning of parliament.

The speaker said he would announce the composition of the committee after getting approval from the government and opposition. The motion was moved under Rule 244(B) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007.

Earlier, raising the issue, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the KP government did not want a tit-for-tat response in the province against the PMLN. “If we want, your federal minister cannot enter within 300-mile radius of his constituency in the province,” he said and demanded that the chair issue the production orders of 10 detained MNAs.

He said all PTI MNAs except for the 10 members would neither attend the proceedings of the House nor turn up for the standing committees’ meetings until an inquiry into the September 10 incident.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also recalled the CoD saying the same document also led to the 18th Amendment. He also supported the constitution of a special committee without delay, so that it proposes a way forward for betterment of the country and parliament.

Khawaja Asif asked the opposition leader to play his role as per the Constitution and law and avoid crossing the red line. “You have the right to protest and hold public meetings but you should not cross the red line,” he said. He said the PMLN and PPP reached the CoD for continuation of democratic process and did not look back to the bitterness of 1990s after 2006.

He recalled that during the PTI’s dharna (sit-in) in front of the Parliament House in 2014, the parliamentarians would enter the Parliament House from the back doors.

Asif said he won’t have any objections if the speaker issued the production orders of 10 detained PTI parliamentarians even if the production orders of the PMLN parliamentarians were not issued. “Two wrongs do not make a right,” he said.

However, he observed that Monday night’s incident should not have occurred had the KP chief minister not used an indecent language. “Such language is destructive for the Constitution and democracy,” Asif added.

Veteran politician Mahmood Khan Achakzai said regardless of what happened at the public meeting, attack on the Parliament House was not acceptable. Achakzai said he, on behalf of the opposition, would say it on oath that they were with the speaker for supremacy of the Constitution, law and parliament.

In a related development, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has suspended five employees of its engineering wing for switching off lights during the unauthorized entry of personnel to the Parliament House. The authority’s Human Resource Directorate also notified their suspension.

In a letter to the CDA Director (Coordination), the National Assembly Secretariat directed him to suspend electricians Muzaffar Hussain, Zaheer Abbas, generator operator Zulfiqar Ali and two other employees namely Raza Ali and Arshad Khokhar. The CDA management was also directed to transfer all these five employees from the Parliament House.