——- Opposition demanded suspension of Bashir’s membership
ISLAMABAD: A heated exchange between MNA belonging to treasury benches Tariq Bashir Cheema and opposition leader Zartaj Gul led to a ruckus in the National Assembly on Thursday, with the opposition demanding that Cheema’s membership be suspended.
According to media, the meeting of the National Assembly was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
Cheema stated that the quorum for the budget was achieved during the PTI government through a dinner hosted at the Prime Minister’s House. He further explained that Pervez Khattak informed him of General Faiz’s attendance, who had previously ensured the fulfillment of the quorum in the House.
After the bitter exchange between treasury and opposition benches, Cheema approached Zartaj Gul and spoke to her. After which Gul started shouting and claimed that Cheema had said something rude to her.
A ruckus broke out in the House subsequently with Cheema swiftly leaving the House. Members of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) tried to go to the government lobby where Cheema had disappeared. Additional security was called in to control the ensuing situation.
Atif Khan, Iqbal Afridi and other leaders of the SIC reached the government gate, but the security personnel and PPP leaders blocked the way. As the situation became tense, the speaker immediately adjourned the meeting till tomorrow morning.
However, the members of the Sunni Ittehad Council were adamant to go to the government lobby and when the security kept stopping them, more people were called in.
SIC Chairman Hamid Raza also stood in front of the government gate where it was told that the exchange of harsh words between Tariq Bashir Cheema and Zartaj Gul was the reason for the commotion.
PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf also arrived to explain to the members of the SIC while PPP’s Agha Rafiullah took Cheema out of the House. Later, members of the SIC reached the speaker’s chamber.
Iqbal Afridi told the speaker that Cheema used abusive language against Gul, adding that we will not leave him under any circumstances. “This person has insulted a woman… we demand that his membership be terminated immediately,” he said.
Discussions were then held on this matter with PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, other PTI leaders and the Speaker, which included PTI MNAs Asad Qaiser, Opposition Leader Omar Ayub and Mehmood Khan Achakzai.
During the discussions, Zartaj Gul stood up and said that I will not leave the chamber until the membership of Tariq Bashir Cheema is terminated. On this, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq assured Zartaj Gul of taking strict action against Cheema. However, the opposition refused to accept the order for the suspension of Tariq Bashir Cheema’s membership. The speaker asked for footage of the meeting.
The opposition stressed that Tariq Bashir Cheema’s membership should be suspended for the entire budget session, demanding that Cheema should apologise on the floor. On this the speaker assured that Cheema would apologise, but his membership would not be suspended for the budget session. Show some flexibility on your demands, he asked opposition members.
The opposition leaders said that a motion to suspend the membership of Tariq Bashir Cheema will be presented in the National Assembly through which Cheema will be prevented from participating in the ongoing session.
Later on, a meeting of government and opposition leaders was held in the speaker chamber in which Cheema was called in. The speaker persuaded him to apologise to Zartaj Gul and asked him to be a ‘bigger person’. Cheema then agreed to apologise and said that “I am sorry for my words and I apologise to Zartaj Gul.” Zartaj Gul subsequently accepted the apology.
According to the spokesperson of the National Assembly, the matter was settled amicably with the efforts of Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. –Agencies
