- Minister says not PML-N but PPP sole beneficiary of NRO
The National Assembly on Wednesday witnessed a heated debate by various federal ministers, criticising the opposition leader for running away from the parliament rather than playing its due democratic role to address peoples’ problems.
Responding to the fierce speech of opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah, they said that the government was still ready to listen to the opposition leaders as PML-N believed in democracy. However, they come hard on the opposition leader for hurling allegations against the PML-N leadership.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Barjees Tahir said like other parties, the PML-N also rendered supreme services for the supremacy of the judiciary and constitution. He said the opposition leader still stuck to its gun despite delivering daily speeches in the House and then staging walkouts.
He said the opposition members should highlight the problems of their constituencies in the House but they have failed to perform their due role in the budget discussion. He urged the opposition not to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere and desist from destroying the national institutions.
The prime minister has repeatedly said that he (PM) would respect the court decisions, he said. State Minister for Interior Balighur Rehman said it was most unfortunate that the opposition leader was depriving other opposition members of their rights to speak in the House. He said the opposition leader was stressing for live telecast of his speech although there was no such precedent.
Even during the PPP rule, they never gave any opportunity to the opposition leader to telecast live speech, he said. He said the credit also goes to the PML-N government that an opportunity was given to the opposition leader to telecast his live speech in 2015. He said media was giving due coverage to the opposition and their demand was out of the context.
State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali criticised the opposition leader for levelling allegation against the PML-N leadership. He said PPP had failed to deliver in Sindh and it should focus on the province rather than levelling allegations against the federal government.
He was of the view that the people who were hurling allegations against the PML-N leadership were themselves plundered the national wealth and purchased palaces in Dubai, the US and other countries. He said PML-N did not sign the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to hide their corruption rather PPP was the sole beneficiary. Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif fought for the supremacy of the judiciary instead for an individual person. He challenged the opposition to prove a signal penny corruption in all development projects including the Sahiwal Coal, Bikki and Haveli Bahadurshah Power plants.
The minister said the government saved Rs80 billion in every power projects. He questioned how an ordinary FIA director general could become a billionaire and purchased flats in the United Kingdom. He said those people were criticising PML-N who was responsible for the economic disaster, promoting corruption and plunging the country into terrorism. In the past, PML-N lawmakers were attacked during the PPP rule and never allowed then opposition leader Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan’s speech to telecast live, he told the House.
