The National Assembly witnessed scenes of chaos on Monday as opposition members surrounded the speaker's dais, chanting slogans against the government, when Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri gave the floor to Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid instead of PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
Bilawal arrived in the assembly after the arrest of his father Asif Ali Zardari, after which the opposition demanded that he be allowed to speak first. A visibly annoyed Suri continued to tell the protesting members to return to their seats and warned that he will not succumb to any pressure.
Suri assured the protesting MNAs that Bilawal will be allowed to speak after Sheikh Rashid's speech. The deputy speaker said that he had given the floor to the railways minister because the latter wanted to respond to Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, who had named Rashid in his speech earlier.
"Do you want me to adjourn the sitting like I did last time?" asked Suri. He then addressed Bilawal directly, assuring the PPP chairperson that he would be allowed to speak for as long as he wished if the protesting members returned to their seats.
"If I am not allowed to speak, I will not let Bilawal speak either," thundered Sheikh Rashid.
As the commotion showed no signs of letting up, Suri adjourned the National Assembly proceedings until Tuesday when the budget is scheduled to be presented.
Call for Zardari's production orders
Earlier, PPP MNA Shazia Marri accused the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of "harassing [PPP co-Chairperson] Asif Ali Zardari" after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) denied the former president's bail plea in a fake accounts case.
During today's National Assembly sitting, Marri asked Speaker Asad Qaiser when he would issue Zardari's production orders.
"He [Zardari] is a member of this House and a former president," she told Qaiser. "The members look towards the speaker for the protection of the rights [of MNAs] as he [Qaiser] is the custodian of the house."
She asked the speaker to ensure the presence of Zardari in the Assembly and issue his production orders.
"NAB is harassing Asif Ali Zardari," a visibly charged Marri declared. "In this situation, how will you protect him, when will you issue his production orders?"
She claimed that opposition members were being facing discrimination and pointed out that members of government were also nominated in NAB cases.
Referring to the arrests of MNAs Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, Marri said: "Opposition members are being picked up one by one. The opposition is being victimised against because they talk about people's issues."
"NAB officials are outside the residence of Asif Zardari, who has already faced jails for 12 or 13 years," she lamented.
Responding to Marri's tirade, Interior Minister retired Brig Ijaz Shah said that the government had "nothing to do" with the high court's order to turn down Zardari's bail plea.
"This is a court matter," he said. "NAB is an independent institution and the government cannot interfere in its affairs."
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi reiterated the interior minister's statement and said that NAB is and "independent institution and has no connection with the government". He further said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had always maintained that "NAB should not be used for witch hunting" and that accountability should be held "across the board". He also pointed out that the case against Zardari was not initiated by the PTI government.
Former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf also asked the speaker to issue production orders for Zardari and suspend assembly proceedings until he arrives.
Shehbaz Sharif, speaking briefly on the arrest, said that there was "no reason" for NAB to arrest Zardari as the latter had been appearing before the anti-corruption watchdog and the courts for case proceedings. He urged the speaker to issue production orders for Zardari urgently.
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry expressed surprise at Sharif's statement regarding the cancellation of Zardari's bail and said: "I thought Shehbaz Sharif will take the credit of [Zardari's] arrest as the investigations in the case were started in 2015" when the PML-N was in power.
"The then interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar, had boasted that [the PML-N government] had discovered these bank accounts," Fawad recalled.
PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while addressing a press conference hours after the arrest of his father Asif Ali Zardari, complained that he was not allowed to speak "yet again" in the National Assembly during Monday's session.
"Three of the government members got the chance to speak but I was denied to speak in the house," he alleged. "I condemn the attitude of National Assembly speaker [Asad Qaiser] and deputy speaker [Qasim Suri] and demand that they resign from their posts because they are not impartial — they act like an extension of the government."
The National Assembly session on Monday was adjourned after opposition members surrounded the speaker's dais and protested against Deputy Speaker Suri giving the floor to Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid instead of the PPP chairperson.
Suri had assured the protesting MNAs that Bilawal would be allowed to speak after Sheikh Rashid's speech. The deputy speaker said that he had given the floor to the railways minister because the latter wanted to respond to Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, who had named Rashid in his speech.
"We have seen with our own eyes that when someone from the government indicates, the speaker gets up or sits down," Bilawal said in the press conference. "I wasn't allowed to speak in the National Assembly — I am a representative of the people of Larkana, an elected MNA."
'Censored' Pakistan
He also lambasted the government for turning the country into a "censored Pakistan".
"Our media is facing censorship, as I have been saying since the elections. Those who don't toe the line, face repercussions. Interviews are not aired, woes of judiciary are not being discussed.
"This doesn't happen in a democracy; this is not a democratic Pakistan — this is a censored Pakistan. This is only possible in a naya [new] Pakistan that only the government's narrative can be published, aired or tweeted.
"Every citizen has the right to a fair trial, they deserve to know if a reference is being filed against them, not from a ticker on the television but from those filing it," said Bilawal, alluding to the reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
"If the government was filing references [against sitting judges], they should have told the National Assembly." He accused the government of wanting a "selected judiciary, selected media and selected opposition".
"Accountability means to [hold] the government accountable. Opposition's accountability is political victimisation," he insisted.
Speaking on the arrest of his father, Bilawal said the former president turned himself in because he wants to avail his right to a fair trial. "We have never hidden behind arrests or cases. What's the difference between this naya Pakistan and the Pakistan of retired Gen Pervez Musharraf or that of General Ayub Khan? People were silenced then and the same is happening now.
"When the government is selected and weak, it is scared of criticism — whether the criticism is from me, Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz or Manzoor Pashteen."
Protest against inflation
Bilawal also condemned the rising inflation and said that he had announced to initiate a movement against increased prices after Eidul Fitr. He said that his party will decide a strategy in its Central Executive Committee meeting and share it with opposition parties.
He said that the new Pakistan, where people were promised jobs and better lives, has become a "punishment" for the citizens.
'I am not impatient'
"As the son of [former prime minister] Benazir Bhutto and the grandson of [former prime minister] Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, it is incumbent upon me to continue the struggle for democracy," he added.
"I wanted to ask the speaker today: how can you scare the child whose grandfather was hanged, whose grandmother was beaten, whose mother was fired at with teargas, whose uncle was poisoned?
"They have arrested Zardari, [former prime minister] Nawaz Sharif — when all the 'corrupt' people are in jails and this government is 'uncorrupt', then why are people's pockets still empty? What did they do with the money that was saved from getting rid of all the corrupt people?" asked Bilawal.
"We understand that to run this country means that you take all institutions and political parties together. There are so many problems in this country, if one person or a single institution thinks that they can solve everything alone, that is wrong," he said.
When asked about the role of the establishment in the recent developments, Bilawal said to the reporter that this was a very "innocent" question.
"They are running everything; we know this, you know this, they know this as well," he said to the reporter but added that the PPP wishes to see the government complete its term.
"But PPP has always tried to uphold democracy and convince them that in democratic, civilised countries, army is posted in three positions: at the border, at the barracks and in the battlefield.
"We have [spent] a majority of our time under dictatorships. It will take us time to pass through this transition [to reach the position] where every institution plays its role. We will keep trying to strengthen Pakistan's democracy. I am sure this government will complete its term and we will have elections again.
"PPP has always supported democracy [...] I am not impatient, I will continue to struggle just like my mother and grandfather."
