LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Wednesday was the scene of a uproar after a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) legislator made a derogatory comment against the Sindh government, while the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) reciprocated in the same coin.
The tense situation arose when the coalition partners – the PPP and PML-N – charged each other with corruption and some PPP lawmakers staged a token walkout from the House over the presence of Prosecution Secretary Rana Maqbool in the official gallery.
Soon after Question Hour, on a statement issued by PML-N MPA Khawaja Imran Nazir regarding the Sindh government and its governor Dr Ishratul Ebad, PPP MPAs reacted strongly and threw counter allegations at the PML-N. The drama turned the House into a virtual fish-market and the assembly reverberated with critical statements and slogans against the leadership of both political parties.
The verbal battle started when Imran brought up the issue of the deteriorating law and order in Karachi which had resulted in the recent bloodshed. He accused the PPP of appointing an absconder as the Sindh governor, which aggravated the situation in Karachi. Although the speaker asked him to discontinue his speech, Khawaja paid no need which set the stage for an emotion-fuelled showdown.
Reacting to his statement, all PPP MPAs rose from their seats as one and pointed out the ‘dual standards’ of the PML-N legislators for appointing an absconder from the Sindh government – Rana Maqbool – as the prosecution secretary. They then pointed to the prosecution secretary sitting in the official gallery. Perceiving the sensitivity of the situation, Maqbool immediately left the gallery.
