The opposition parties Thursday staged a walkout from the National Assembly to protest what they alleged was the treasury’s lack of interest in the House proceedings.
Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah announced the walkout after a heated debate with Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Ahmed.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamaat-e-Islami also supported Pakistan People People’s Party legislators’ walkout.
Earlier, speaking on a point of order, the opposition leader criticised the treasury for undermining the House proceedings by not showing up in sessions.
Khursheed Shah said that Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had preferred resignations for resolving their issues. The government legislators should improve their presence record in the House so that the opposition could take up their issues in the Parliament, he added.
He claimed there was better presence of ministers in the House during the PPP’s tenure.
Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain rejected Shah’s remarks and said that a sizable number of PML-N ministers was always present in the House as compared to tenure of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
He challenged Shah to compare record of the attendance of the current ministers with five year attendance record of PPP ministers.