Pandemonium in NA as Speaker denies Ahsan Iqbal speech

Minister for Communications Murad Saeed lashed out at the political rivals.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Ruckus dominated the proceedings of the National Assembly (NA) on Thursday over the Speaker’s refusal to the speech of PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal as outraged members from the opposition benches gathered in front of the speaker’s dais and hurled accusations at each other, but stopped short of coming to blows.

The Deputy Speaker of the NA, Qasim Suri, strongly responded to the matter, and said: “The House is not for you all to deliver speeches and go home.”

Earlier in today’s session, Minister for Communications Murad Saeed lashed out at the political rivals of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and pointed out their corrupt practices in the former governments.

“[Cases of] Falooda and Pakora walas are being surfaced,” Saeed said while referring to the infamous fake bank accounts case. “The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is an independent institution and functioning as per its law.”

While the opposition members kept on condemning the arrest of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) politician Khurshid Shah by the anti-graft body, Saeed stated that the chairman of the bureau was appointed by the previous government itself with the consultation of PPP.

He recalled that it was the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the PPP, which had accused each other of corruption, and said: “The PML-N once talked of dragging Zardari and mocked Khurshid Shah as a ‘meter reader’.”

The minister said that instead of making hue and cry on the arrest of their leaders, the opposition parties should raise the voice for the rights of Kashmiris.

“We should give a message that the entire nation and the parliament stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their Kashmiri brethren.”

Saeed said that it was the first time that Hindutva face of India has been unmasked by Pakistan at the international level. He said the world today has been supporting Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir dispute.

The minister pointed out the ongoing intense situation in occupied Kashmir, and added that the people were short of medicines, foods and other essential commodities. “Kashmiris are looking towards Pakistan [for help] – but when they observe that these parliamentarians are crying for themselves in the House, they are disappointed.”