Taking a dig at the “helpless coalition government”, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan claimed on Monday that all decisions were being made outside the parliament.
His remarks came shortly after President Asif Ali Zardari addressed a joint session of parliament to mark the commencement of the second parliamentary year amid a strong protest by the opposition. The president urged stakeholders to prioritise national interests and set aside personal and political differences for the sake of the country.
Emphasising the importance of democracy, Zardari said: “Democracy needs give and take, and what better place to work on collective goals than this parliament? As elected representatives, you function as role models for the nation.”
The PTI, however, believes that the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government does not have any real power, and its leaders publicly call the establishment the “real decision maker”.
During his interactions with journalists after the president’s address, Barrister Gohar claimed that it was an incomplete house, adding that they attended the session only to register their protest.
According to the former ruling party, the lower house of parliament was “incomplete” as the reserved seats had not been allotted to the Sunni Ittehad Council so far.
For his part, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan said there was no rule of law in the country.
Referring to hundreds of cases against the PTI’s leadership, Ayub said: “Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ejaz Chaudhry and Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed are behind bars.”
“Hassan Niazi (PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew) and our workers are political prisoners,” he added.
There was no investment in the country because of the lack of rule of law, he added.
Blasting the government over “wrong” economic policies, the PTI leader said that 20 million people had fallen below the poverty line and two million people had left the country.
These two million people went abroad by paying Rs4 million each, he said, adding that if the amount is converted into dollars, it becomes $27 billion.
The government was approaching the IMF for a $1.5 billion loan, and on the other hand, $27bn left the country due to the wrong policies of the rulers.
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz raised questions about the federation wherein one province did not have representation. He added that there were serious threats to the country.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party’s chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed President Zardari’s address to the joint session of the parliament “historic”.
“Asif Zardari becomes the first president who addressed parliament for the eighth time,” he added. The PPP leader said that the president praised the government for improving the economy and pointed out issues that remain.
Expressing his regret over the PTI’s protest in the house, the PPP leader called the opposition “non-serious”. “The opposition’s behaviour shows that it is not interested in public issues,” he added.
