National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser adjourned the NA session minutes after it started on Wednesday as the treasury members continued their protest for the third consecutive day to disrupt Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif’s budget speech.
Shehbaz, surrounded by sergeants, tried to deliver his speech amid sloganeering but was cut short.
Meanwhile, Qaiser repeatedly called on the parliamentarians to be seated but eventually adjourned the session after an object was thrown at the speaker’s dais.
“I will not conduct this House (NA) until both the government and the Opposition [settle their matters],” said Qaiser before walking out, adjourning the session till tomorrow (Thursday).
Shehbaz, during his speech, condemned yesterday’s incident and said it was Qaiser’s duty to maintain the sanctity of the House and run it in accordance with the law.
“I am saddened by your helplessness,” he said, alleging that the behaviour of treasury members had been authorised by Prime Minister Imran Khan himself.
“It was your duty to stop this,” added Shehbaz.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar claimed in a tweet that the Opposition had attacked him within minutes when the session started. He added that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Muhammad Akram Cheema was also injured by a bottle thrown at him.
“Worried by the economic improvement and popular budget, the opposition wants to run away from discussion on the budget in the House by engaging in confrontation,” added Asad.
Spokesperson for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the Opposition was again insulted by the government benches.
“They [government] want to attack the parliament and the system. They want to attack the Speaker’s seat,” added Marriyum.
