For fear of failure, ministers behaving like ‘suicide bombers’: Sherry

ISLAMABAD: PPP Parliamentary Leader in Senate Sherry Rehman has said that oppositions’ super over has begun, the government is dropping catches as the PTI regime is threatening a constructional crisis.

“The PPP never ever in their conduct or behaviour overstepped the limits of the law, and it’s best for the PTI government that they refrain from blacklisting themselves from history and realise that the opposition’s super over has begun, and the PTI government keeps dropping catches,” she said while addressing a press conference here Sunday, along with senior party leader Naveed Qamar and PPP Secretary Information Faisal Karim Kundi.

Sherry said the panic of losing office and the confidence is causing the government to spiral into deranged paranoia. “We are facing an unending FATF grey listing, but their ministers want to blow up everything, including the opposition, like ‘suicide bombers’ just like they triggered the crash of our national airline,” she added.

She said if they could not keep their offices, they are willing to burn Pakistan, its constitution, its democratic system, and its people. She said highly inappropriate language was being used all round, with no consideration of what the people are going through. The PPP senator said constitutional neutrality of offices and institutions was being questioned as if the whole country was a zoo full of ‘animals’. “There is no logic or sanity left in the methods or statements as one day they threaten us with target killings at the highest level, the other day they say they will mobilise their tigers to obstruct constitutional instruments and block MNAs from entering parliament,” she said.

About the missile Incident, she remarked, “You tell me why it took four days for ascertaining the gravity of the situation? The BrahMos supersonic is an atomic missile, just because it was missing its nuclear warhead, it was allowed to roam within our territory, not even disputed territory rather in Mian Channu.

“It is not like it's a small revolver bullet you’re writing off,” she said. Senator Sherry said missiles have certain systems and there are protocols to be followed. “If one deviates from its trajectory, they are created to self-destruct. I’m sure the establishment can elaborate on it,” she added.

Naveed Qamar said the speaker's clear inclination towards the government is a matter of concern. “The speaker of the National Assembly has made himself controversial with his statement,” he added. He said the no-confidence motion should be chaired by a non-controversial and unbiased speaker. He said the speaker could not prevent a member from exercising his right to vote and even could not give any ruling for preventing any member from entering the House. “The National Assembly secretary is to monitor the voting process and the speaker’s role only is to announce it,” he said. If the speaker would do anything unconstitutional, then it would not stop at just distrusting the speaker, he warned.

Faisal Karim Kundi said that overseas convention was being held in Islamabad on Sunday. People were watching and know that overseas Pakistanis would first take account of foreign funding from Imran Khan where it was spent.

He demanded that chief justice of Pakistan order placing the name of prime minister and his front men on the Exit Control List, as they were preparing to escape. “Some have bought tickets and some are preparing,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, former chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani said the recent statement of the National Assembly speaker about the no-confidence motion against the prime minister was a conduct unbecoming of a speaker, as at the moment a notice of such a resolution was pending before him.

“A requisition under Article 54 of the Constitution 1973 to summon a session of the assembly to move the vote of no-confidence is also pending before the speaker.

“Under Article 54, it is the speaker who has to summon the session. If such are the views of the speaker on the vote of no-confidence, it appears unlikely that he will exercise his power of summoning the session reasonably,” he said while commenting on the speaker National Assembly statement that the no-confidence would fail.

The senator said the speaker had exposed himself to be bound by his party’s line, which is not the role of a speaker, who has to be neutral in the application of the rules, law and the Constitution in the House. “His conduct must inspire confidence in the opposition and treasury benches,” he said.

Rabbani said the speaker’s silence on the arrest of MNAs and raid on Parliamentary Lodges showed his bias. He said it is the responsibility of the speaker to ensure that every member had unhindered access to the House to perform his parliamentary duties including casting of a vote, being one of the most scared. “No member, regardless of the party he belongs to or the position his party may take on a particular issue, can be prevented from coming to the House and exercising his right to vote or taking part in the business of the House,” he said.