- Sanaullah says elections on same day in country to be level playing field
- Parliamentarian say political parties should compete each other in public arena
ISLAMABAD: The members of the Parliament on Wednesday urged National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to play his role in initiating a dialogue between the government and the opposition to end perpetuating political crisis, causing disruption in the democratic process.
Addressing the joint session of the Parliament, the members of the National Assembly and senators urged the government and the speaker to sit with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership to hold talks as it was the only solution to fight the country’s spiraling crises.
Taking floor of the House, Senator Tahir Bizinjo of the National Party said both the sides were doing politics, but the national economy was not performing. The country was facing the huge challenges of poverty and terrorism amid persistent instability and the government was indecisive as any course adopted by it would be detrimental, he added.
He said the Constitution was not implemented in letter and spirit despite lapse of 50 years. Free and fair elections could be held with the implementation of the Constitution, which would also help overcome multiple crises faced by the country, he stressed.
“The political parties should compete each other in the public’s arenas, and resolve issues through mutual negotiations,” he said, adding as per today’s newspapers, the PTI had hinted to participate in any all parties’ conference to be called by the government.
“The government should thus should convene an all parties conference and announce elections date after consensus,” he added.
MNA Ghous Bux Khan Mahar of Grand Democratic Alliance said no minister was present and only members of both the houses were called to attend the joint sitting. Only one minister had addressed the House.
The prevailing division among political parties not good for the national unity and cohesion, he added. The NA speaker should intervene and resolve the matter through mutual consensus, he suggested.
“All institutions must work within their constitutional limits and ensure supremacy of the parliament. The political crisis should be resolved through the intervention of the speaker,” he added.
Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani of the PTI said all the institutions had their role in the state system. “Every country prefers its national interests over others and that is how nations prosper,” he added.
MNA Khalid Hussain Magsi of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) said the government was assumed to resolve public issues and take strict decisions.
“It is now time to decide a policy direction,” he added.
Senator Haji Hedaytullah Khan of the Awami National Party suggested that the National Action Plan should be implemented completely and terrorists should be denounced without any discrimination.
The joint session should decide that the state must take action against those who had pushed the country again in terrorism through their poor policies, he added.
MNA Aslam Bhootani said asked the government withdraw its reference against Justice Qazi Faiz Esa.
‘Same day elections in country to be level playing field’
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly (NA) during joint session on Wednesday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that they are not fleeing from the elections but are willing to organise general polls on the same day.
He said that the parliament should guide the government and all institutions for the general polls. He said, “Elections of all assemblies should be held in the presence of the caretaker set-up. Polls on the same day will be a level playing field for everyone.”
“Chief Justice has said that the court will intervene if elections are not held in 90 days. It is a fact that April 30 election date is also exceeding the limit of elections within 90 days [after the dissolution of the provincial assembly].”
“Such elections should be held here that can bring stability to the country. 60 per cent of NA seats are existing in Punjab province. The elections in Punjab will create difficulties for other political parties. We accept the constitutional powers of the chief justice but separate elections will spread anarchy and chaos in the country.”
The interior minister said that fair and free elections are inevitable to stop the anarchy and chaos. Political stability cannot be brought to the country until the organisation of fair and free polls, he added.
Audio leaks scandal
Sanaullah said, “It was said that the Supreme Court (SC) is being maligned with audio leaks. They should investigate the case of Ali Sahi and his two sons.”
“An audio conversation between ex-CJP Saqib Nisar and a lawyer had also surfaced earlier. The CJP should listen to the reference of the bar council and make a decision.”
“Imran Khan had initiated the trend of audio and video leaks in the country during his government. The videos of the NAB chairman were leaked by the PTI government to blackmail him. During his government, Tayyaba Gul was captivated in the Prime Minister’s House,” claimed Sanaullah.
‘Imran Khan causing troubles’
Rana Sanaullah blamed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan for causing troubles in the country for 10 years through sit-ins and protests.
He said that Imran Khan had been invited by all governments. Shehbaz Sharif had invited Khan for the charter of economy and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari offered dialogues to the PTI chief too.
Sanaullah said that Imran Khan took vengeful actions against his political rivals through National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and filed false cases.
Economic crisis, IMF conditions
Regarding the economic crisis, the interior minister claimed that the incumbent government has made no mistakes in its economic policies. He said that the tough conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had been accepted in an agreement in Imran Khan’s government.
“The incumbent government is only implementing the IMF conditions signed by the former premier Imran Khan,” said Sanaullah.
