Opp hails govt’s proposal of formulating code of conduct for lawmakers

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ISLAMABAD: Government’s proposal of forming a committee to prepare a code of conduct for lawmakers was received warmly by the opposition leaders on Thursday.

During the question hour, the treasury benches and the opposition once again had an argument as Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry accused the previous Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government of destroying every institution in the country. Later, the house was informed by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak that the government had decided that the use of unparliamentary language would be discouraged in the assembly proceedings and rules will be strictly enforced. The defence minister also proposed forming a committee to formulate a code of conduct for the lawmakers. The committee would comprise members from the treasury and the opposition benches, he added.

PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif then took the floor and welcomed the move as he regretted the use of inappropriate language in the house. He further said that some ministers were habitual of levelling allegations without any evidence. Lashing out at the use of unbecoming language in the house, he said, “For the past few days, we have turned this house into a fish market.”

“We should use parliamentary language in the house and our conversation should be factual. We should talk about national issues instead of wasting time,” he added.

Former premier Raja Pervez Ashraf also lauded the government’s suggestion of formulating a code of conduct for smooth proceedings of the house, adding that by using inappropriate language, lawmakers were only ridiculing themselves.

Ashraf also highlighted that the house had been unable to wrap up a debate of the country’s economic issues, something that had been on the agenda of the assembly for the past one week.