- Yet another display of arrogance
After three months in power a self-righteous and aggressive posture continues to characterise the PTI leadership. Whenever anybody in the opposition points out a lapse in the administration’s performance, as happened in the Senate on Wednesday, this leads to an outpouring of expletives by the PTI parliamentarians. The critics are summarily told off by recounting the misdeeds, real or imaginary, of their party leaders. The information minister disregarded repeated pleadings by the chairman Senate to avoid un-parliamentary language, refused to sit down despite the chair’s directives and continued to speak when the mic was silenced. The opposition called it an insult to the Senate and staged a walk out.
On Thursday chairman Senate directed the information minister to come to the house to offer an apology and when he failed to do so, barred him from attending the session. This evoked a strong reaction from the minister who challenged the credentials of the Senate chairman and threatened that cabinet too could boycott of the Senate turning the House of the Federation into a dysfunctional body. Instead of reining him in the PM put his weight behind Fawad Ch maintaining that nobody can be allowed to insult his ministers.
One can understand that a new government takes its time to find its feet on governance. But 90 days should be enough to learn how parliamentary democracy works. The PTI administration has yet to realise that it is answerable to Parliament. Further, that the government needs Parliament as much as, if not more than, the Parliament needs government. In order to introduce reforms, the marque project of the PTI, the administration has to take these to Parliament to make laws. The failure to resolve the issue of the chairman PAC has stood in the way of the formation of NA subcommittees which play a key role in the law making process. With the opposition enjoying majority in Senate, the government cannot get any constitutional amendments passed without its support. Unless the government develops working relations with the opposition legislation will remain stalled. It is time the PTI leadership abandons its infantile politics and learns to run the system like a mature party.