Cracks in the nascent coalition government became all too visible on Monday when several coalition partners made angry outbursts in the National Assembly (NA) over the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) “change of attitude.” The coalition accused PML-N of backtracking from the commitments it made ahead of the no-confidence motion against former prime minister Imran Khan, Dawn reported.
Asad Mehmood, who hails from JUI-F – one of the main components of the PDM alliance along with PML-N and the PPP – protested the government’s decision to file an appeal before the Supreme Court over Federal Shariat Court (FSC) decision in the Riba case.
جے یو آئی کے پارلیمانی لیڈرمفتی اسعد محمود کا قومی اسمبلی کے اجلاس میں سود کے بارے میں دو ٹوک موقف۔۔!! @AsadMahmoodJUI pic.twitter.com/upINrZWv0j
— Maulana Salah Ud Din Ayubi (@IMsalahuddin10) June 27, 2022
The JUI-F leader complained that the government had decided without consulting his party, which could even go to the extent of quitting the ruling alliance if the PML-N did not come out with a clarification.
Read more: Fazlur Rehman’s bold statement generates crisis for PDM
“The government and the ministry concerned should make it clear if the banks had gone to court under their directives,” he asked, adding: “If they have done it on their own, then who has given them the authority to go into the appeal against such decisions and on what grounds? No government minister can make decisions alone. You cannot file an appeal without consulting us,” declared Mehmood, who is JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s son.
“If today any ministry wants to take a solo flight then it should think and decide about its future. We have decided about our future. We will spend our lives in accordance with Islam… and we distance ourselves from such decisions,” he said while asking the government to withdraw the appeal in the SC.
Independent MNA from Gwadar, Aslam Bhootani, also strongly protested against Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal for not including development schemes in his constituency in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), despite repeated requests by PPP’s Asif Zardari and even Premier Shehbaz Sharif.
خدا کی قسم ہم پی ٹی آئی کے ساتھ خوش تھے، اربوں روپے کے فنڈز ملتے تھے موجودہ حکومت میں آئے تو کچھ نہیں ملا، ہم کسی کی محبت میں پی ٹی آئی چھوڑ کر یہاں آئے لیکن یہاں تو 2 ووٹوں سے قائم حکومت کی گردن میں سریا آ گیا۔ حکومت کے 2 اتحادی ایوان میں پھٹ پڑے! pic.twitter.com/FwXUnrsHI1
— Zia Ullah Khan Bangash (@ZiaKBangashPK1) June 27, 2022
Bhootani said he was happy in the previous PTI government but joined the present coalition for the sake of Zardari, who had arranged the support of 58 members for the current government. He added that the PTI government had released billions of rupees and got 100 per cent allocated amount, which Iqbal cut.
Expressing similar feelings, Balochistan Awami Party’s (BAP) Khalid Magsi said that it seemed that those who were desperate to obtain their support at the time of the no-confidence vote, “did not like our faces now.”
Meanwhile, Osama Qadri of the Muttahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) alleged that the PML-N and the PPP were not implementing the agreements that had been signed with the party at the time of the formation of the government.
North Waziristan MNA Mohsin Dawar also protested the failure of the authorities to produce Ali Wazir in the assembly, despite the issuance of his production orders.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, however, defended the PML-N and said that the grievances of the allies from Balochistan were genuine and said the government would make every effort to remove the sense of deprivation among the Balochistan people.
The lawmakers condemned the remarks of Canadian parliamentarian Tom Kmiec against COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa saying they were tantamount to “interference” in Pakistan’s affairs.
Read more: Canadian parliament insults Pakistan’s Army Chief: Country’s honor tarnished
Khawaja Asif alleged that Kmiec had stated that at the behest of some expats and the PTI lobbyists, adding that Imran Khan was involved in “an anti-state campaign outside the country.”
قومی اسمبلی کا اجلاس، وزیردفاع خواجہ آصف کا اظہار خیال
دیکھیے سماء ٹی وی لائیو: https://t.co/J2FqOb8im7#SamaaTV #Canada #KhawajaAsif #NationalAssembly pic.twitter.com/mqsPJtT5NF— SAMAA TV (@SAMAATV) June 27, 2022
He also highlighted some human rights violations in Canada, saying that Muslims from 2017 to 2022 were targeted and killed in various incidents related to Islamophobia.
With input from Dawn