ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers staged a protest and boycotted proceedings of the National Assembly on Tuesday after being denied a meeting with their party’s founding chairman in jail.
PTI MNA Amir Dogar demanded the formation of a parliamentary committee to summon the prison superintendent and seek an explanation. Former Speaker Asad Qaiser, speaking in the House and later to the media, said meeting their leader was their legal right under the jail manual. He warned that if the chairman’s sisters and party leaders were not allowed to meet him, PTI would again boycott the session tomorrow and hold the assembly meeting outside Parliament.
Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar invited the PTI members to sit down and talk, while Speaker Ayaz Sadiq assured them of his cooperation and called for negotiations with the government. Despite efforts to pacify them, the PTI members staged a walkout.
During the session, lawmakers from various parties raised other pressing issues. MNA Fathullah protested that 83 percent of agricultural land in Dera Ismail Khan had been destroyed, yet the government allocated only Rs 100 million for relief, calling it an insult to flood victims. JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri condemned the demolition of mosques in Islamabad, warning of the potential for a Lal Masjid-like incident if the government did not reconsider its actions.
MNA Syed Raza Gilani criticized the closure of utility stores and the dismissal of employees despite a standing committee decision to keep them open. MNA Hameed Hussain highlighted the problems faced by pilgrims traveling on foot from Punjab and the registration of cases against those setting up water stalls.
MNA Amjad Ali Khan stressed that the crisis in Balochistan could not be solved through force but through proper political solutions. MNA Sardar Nabeel Gabol raised concerns over power outages in Karachi, claiming load-shedding lasted more than 18 hours despite the government’s figure of 11 hours, and challenged officials to prove otherwise.
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