The opposition parties in the National Assembly on Monday separately walked out of the house in protest over different issues. MQM lawmakers were first to boycott the session and they were followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) members.
MQM’s Wasim Akhtar, on a point of order, tried to divert the attention of the house towards the volatile law and order situation in Karachi but to no avail as most of the MPs had gathered around Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to get their applications signed. This not only infuriated the MQM legislator but also National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi who was chairing the session.
Kundi tried to put the house in order but to no avail. In protest, the MQM legislators staged a walkout which frustrated Kundi further.
Akhtar was of the view that the MQM wanted the government attention to address the situation in Karachi but PM Gilani ignored the subject in his speech in the National Assembly.
Then PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal tried to move a motion for debate in the National Assembly regarding killings in Karachi and Quetta. But Kundi instead gave the floor to PML-Q legislator Nausheen Saaed which triggered uproar among PML-N lawmakers. They stood up and raised slogans against the government.
Later, the motion was unanimously adopted by the house and it was agreed that the debate on the issue of law and situation in Karachi and Balochistan would start today (Tuesday). After that the PML-N legislators also walked out of the house
The JUI-F also staged a walkout from the National Assembly following the MQM and PML-N lawmakers.
After returning to the house, MQM legislator Wasim Akhtar Khan on a point of order criticised the government for its ‘non-serious’ attitude towards matters related to situation in Karachi and Balochistan. He said that nobody could occupy Karachi with guns. “The MQM did not need power on gunpoint in Karachi since Altaf Hussain lives in the hearts of Karachiites,” he added.
