Bilawal, Qureshi cross swords on NA floor

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi came face to face in the National Assembly on Wednesday, indulging in a fiery debate.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Bilawal spoke about respecting parliamentary procedures but under which parliamentary traditions, the opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly was not allowed to make a speech on the provincial government's budget and the opposition there was deprived of the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee.

During the speech of Qureshi, Bilawal returned to the house. After the speech of Qureshi, he said he has the right to respond to the foreign minister and said, “We know this member from Multan far better than anyone”. He said: “I would like to request the prime minister to order the ISI to tape Qureshi's phone because when he was PPP's foreign minister, he used to campaign in the entire world to replace him with Yusuf Raza Gilani as the prime minister.” He said Prime Minister Imran Khan has yet to know what kind of person Qureshi is. “I will not take his name because I do not give him importance. I have known him from childhood and have seen him raising the slogans of 'Jeay Bhutto' and 'Aik Zardari Sab Pe Bhaari' to save his ministry,” he said.

Bilawal said if the treasury benches did not let him speak, Imran Khan would also not be able to speak in the National Assembly. “If you run this House according to the rules, I promise that all PPP members will sit quietly during Imran Khan's speech.” He said, “If you do not follow the rules, this House will not run. This foreign minister is involved in selling Kashmir, he has to deal with the emerging situation in Afghanistan but failed to manage a phone call from US President Joe Biden for his prime minister.” He said this is embarrassing for the whole nation that Pakistan’s prime minister is so unimportant that he cannot even receive a phone call. “This foreign minister is about to become a threat for his party and his prime minister,” he said.

He said this member from Multan had promised to create South Punjab province but now has announced not to contest elections again because he did not fulfil that promise. He said the opposition leader was attacked in the National Assembly and they tried to do the same in the Sindh Assembly. “The way you suspended members, the same way the Sindh Assembly Speaker suspended a few members,” he said, adding that these people have created a history as they have not moved even one cut motion in the Sindh Assembly. This shows their non-serious attitude.

Responding to Bilawal’s personal explanation, Qureshi said, "I know you since you were a kid and I also knew your parents as well." He said he did not know that Bilawal would be so upset by his speech.

Earlier, Bilawal said the way this budget session was run became an embarrassment for the entire nation. He said the opposition leader was physically attacked that was witnessed by the entire country. He said every member has the right to represent his or her constituency whether they voted for a budget for progress or destruction. This should have come on record, he said.

Responding to the points of the opposition members in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Qureshi said the important leaders of the opposition parties invited to attend the meeting and will be taken into confidence with regard to recent developments in Afghanistan and the national security. He said the opposition parties were also invited to the foreign office where they were briefed about Pakistan's viewpoint on the Afghan situation. A meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security will be held in Islamabad on Thursday to discuss the Afghan situation.

The foreign minister criticised the opposition members for targeting the speaker. He said the speaker is the custodian of the house and targeting him is contrary to the rules and procedures. He said the opposition could challenge the ruling of the speaker but the rules do not allow targeting his personality. He said he knows how the national exchequer was looted and there was a heavy current account deficit when the PTI government took over. He appreciated the patience of the speaker in view of the conduct of the opposition members.