News
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
PML-N, ANP exchange harsh words in joint session* ANP lawmaker accuses Punjab of taking free water, collecting billions of rupees from agriculture sector
By Tanveer Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: A joint parliamentary session, summoned to debate new rules of engagements with the US, turned into a ‘verbal spar’ between the Awami National Party (ANP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers.
The uproar started when ANP Senator Haji Adeel, on a point of order, protested for not inviting a single businessman or industrialist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to Monday’s energy summit in Lahore.
He said that smaller provinces were being ignored on major issues, adding that their province was producing more electricity and gas as compared to its requirement, but was facing severe load shedding.
The PML-N lawmakers stood and verbally assailed the ANP members. Members from both parties shouted slogans against each other when Adeel mentioned the water agreement of 1991. He said KP held the right to the water, which was being provided to Punjab under the agreement.
Particularly referring to a decision of the energy summit that load shedding would be equally distributed among the provinces, Adeel showed Daily Times in the House carrying the lead story, ‘country to go dark on equality basis’.
“We are made friend when the dark times come and detached when one is in comfortable position,” Adeel remarked. When he targeted Punjab for taking the free water and collecting billions of rupees from the agriculture sector, the PML-N members reacted angrily. The counterattack by ANP lawmakers subsequently spread chaos in the House.
Adeel further went on attacking the leadership of the PML-N by saying that they had fled away from the country by signing contracts. The ANP, however, has no such record, he added. “N-League switches sides... this shows the party has no principles,” said the ANP leader. The ‘squabble’ between Adeel and PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi took an interesting turn when Abbasi said he would accept “the politics of ANP if they call founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah as the Quaid-e-Azam (RA)”. “Quaid-e-Azam (RA), Quaid-e-Azam (RA),” Adeel loudly said which comforted the PML-N members.
It was, however, ANP lawmaker Ilyas Bilour who registered his protest against the non-representation of private industrial sector from KP in the conference.
PPP lawmaker Syed Khursheed Shah advised PML-N members to remain calm when the ANP showed grace towards the Quaid-e-Azam.
PML-Q lawmaker Kamil Ali Agha pointed out that the hands of Punjab had been tied through 18th Amendment and said that nothing substantive came out of the energy conference. PML-N lawmaker Araish Kumar diverted the attention of the House towards forced conversion of minorities to Islam in Sindh and deplored that a sitting MNA of the ruling party was involved.
PPP lawmaker Yasmeen Rehman was the only member who spoke on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security. She said parliament should not waste the opportunity to formulate the country’s foreign policy.
The joint session was adjourned until April 12.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk