Pakistan’s main opposition parties reject virtual National Assembly session

Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser during the Functional Committee on COVID-19 affectees on April 22, 2020. (Photo courtesy: National Assembly of Pakistan/Twitter)

• PPP says such session cannot take place without amending the rules for which the assembly must physically convene
• PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi refuses to allow a ‘technician’ to control the dynamics of the assembly debate

LAHORE: Leaders of Pakistan's main opposition parties on Wednesday rejected the idea of attending a virtual National Assembly session while talking to Arab News, as Speaker of the Upper House of Parliament Asad Qaisar formed a committee to explore the possibility of holding an online sitting of people's representatives amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The committee is mandated to suggest amendments to the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, making it possible to hold its virtual session amid rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
“The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz will not participate in any virtual session,” said the PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal. “If the other two pillars of the state – judiciary and executive – are working under the circumstances, why can’t legislature do the same? There is enough space in the [assembly] hall and we can maintain a six-foot distance. We demand an urgent session to scrutinize the government’s handling of the ongoing crisis.”
The party’s senior vice president and Pakistan’s former prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, concurred.
“Holding a conference or a party meeting is different from holding a National Assembly session,” he argued. “Under normal circumstances, you can boycott a session, raise a point of order during a speech, protest or appreciate a viewpoint. But in a virtual environment, all this will be controlled by a technician. The government wants to set a precedent whereby it can pass the national budget virtually. We will not allow it to happen.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) noted that a virtual session would not have any legitimacy unless the rules were amended.
“Currently, the rules do not permit a virtual sitting,” the party’s central information secretary, Nafisa Shah, told Arab News. “The country’s top legislative body must meet physically to amend the rules. The PPP cannot be part of any practice that lacks a legal foundation. However, we demand an immediate assembly session to discuss the situation that has cropped up due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
“The government’s relief package requires the approval of parliament since it is a money bill,” she continued. "It is illegal until endorsed by parliament. The situation demands an urgent session.”
Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam (JUI-F) party said it would follow the decision of the joint opposition on the issue.
“If the government is easing restrictions on everything, why should the National Assembly session not meet? As a political faction, we are in favor of joining the NA proceedings even if they are held virtually. But the decision on the matter will be taken by the joint opposition since we are a part of it,” JUI-F Central Spokesperson Hafiz Hussain Ahmad told Arab News.
Awami National Party, the major rival of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, echoed the same view.
“It’s important to hold a National Assembly session at this stage and our party is ready to join it in any shape, but it will be the collective decision of the joint opposition. All political factions should find a way to hold a session since the current situation demands an urgent debate on several issues,” Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the party’s central leader, said.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) was the only party that agreed to attend the virtual session, saying the country needed all political forces to provide their input and the country’s parliament should hold a session to make it possible.
“The NA session must be held. We are ready to attend the virtual sitting of the House,” the JI chief, Sirajul Haq, told Arab News.
However, the National Assembly spokesperson said no decision had yet been taken on holding a virtual session.
"Mr Speaker has not decided to summon a virtual session of the National Assembly. He has only constituted a committee with government and opposition representatives. The committee has decided to consult the parliamentary leaders and prepare a report on the basis of their opinion. The report will be submitted to Mr. Speaker and he will take an appropriate decision," Mehboob Ali Gurmani, the National Assembly spokesperson, told Arab News.