ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah addressed the parliament as the opposition ended their boycott on Wednesday.
The PTI chairman spoke second, after Khursheed Shah, and said that Pakistan may have begun as a democratic nation but has now turned into a monarchy. “In a democracy, it’s the government’s job to make laws and govern and it’s the opposition’s job to make sure that the government is accountable for all its measures,” he said, adding that the opposition merely strengthens the democracy by demanding accountability and action.
He said that the parliament had given every member the right to criticize, “The institution would have no value if it weren’t for this right”. Answering to the allegations hurled against him, he said that the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) government could only verbally accuse him but couldn’t launch any official probe against him.
He said that the government responded by accusing Shaukat Khanum Hospital of corruption when the PTI began questioning the government over the Panama leaks. “The prime minister is foiling the reputation of a hospital which gives the poor the same standard of treatment as the rich. The government is ready to destroy Pakistan’s biggest charity hospital with these allegations,” he added.
He said that Pakistan should learn from foreign leaders who have taken action against corrupt officials. “Prime minister should not be giving us details about how wealthy he has been all his life, but he should tell us why his family has been named in the Panama papers,” he said.
Earlier, Khursheed Shah had said that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah paid Rs 4,400 in taxes in 1948, whereas, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif paid only Rs 2,700 in taxes in 1993. Addressing the National Assembly, the opposition leader drew comparison between Quaid-e-Azam and PM Nawaz, saying that the Panama leaks issue has just begun. The opposition announced an end to its boycott to the upper and lower house of parliament on Tuesday after an hours-long meeting to formulate a future strategy to deal with the government over the Panama scandal.
“We don’t intend to defame Pakistan or prove that the prime minister is a corrupt leader, but PM Nawaz should have been present in today’s session to answer our questions,” he said. Referring to the opposition’s reservations over PM Nawaz’s speech and his assets, Shah said that the prime minister’s wealth was never in question, however, his family has given contradictory statements regarding his wealth.
“PM Nawaz owns 12 companies but has only paid Rs 12 billion in tax, over a period of 23 years,” he added. The opposition had started boycotting the proceedings and calling upon the prime minister to come to parliament and clarify his position over his family’s offshore businesses.
Even when PM Nawaz attended the National Assembly session on Monday, the opposition lawmakers walked out for the sixth consecutive day, saying that they had put forward seven questions of which the prime minister had answered none, but instead had engendered 70 more. In a yet again surprising move on Tuesday, Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah suddenly announced that the protesting parties had ended their boycott since the prime minister had spoken to parliament.
“The prime minister had said he was not answerable to parliament and that’s why we had to force him to come to the house (by boycotting),” Shah told journalists after the opposition’s meeting at the Parliament House. “Though he [Nawaz] did not answer the questions we asked him, we are still ending the boycott [of both houses],” he said. “Why should we stay away as parliament is our forum?
– NA starts debate on Panama Papers leaks
Earlier, the National Assembly on Wednesday started debate on Panama Papers leaks by suspending the Question Hour.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq informed the House that it was decided in a meeting of Parliamentary parties to suspend Question Hour, as the members wanted to discuss Panama Papers. Federal Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid moved a motion to suspend the rules in order to start debate on Panama Papers.
The minister also apprised the House about the parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms and said that a 34-members Parliamentary Committee was constituted for Electoral Reforms which met 18 times and received 1200 suggestions.
He said the sub-committee on Electoral Reforms submitted six reports on the matter and informed the House that the committee had given final shape to constitutional bill on Electoral Reforms during its meeting held on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Ishaq Dar presented interim report of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms in the House. He said it was decided to bring 22nd Constitutanal Amendment regarding appointment of members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as the term of current ECP’s members being completed on June 10 this year.
The minister said that there would be a vacuum if the amendment was not taken up and “it is necessary to bring the Amendment before June 10, 2016”. He said that the President Mamnoon would address the joint sitting of the Parliament on June 2 while the federal budget would be presented on June 3.
He said the bill was drafted through consensus of all political parties. “If the House passes the bill today then its report will be presented in the Senate tomorrow,” he said.
