Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party Leader Agha Rafiullah Awan and Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri butted heads during the Nation Assembly session on Wednesday, leading to the expulsion of the former from the assembly hall.
The opposition had been protesting against the deputy speaker, who had also been chairing the session, alleging that Suri had been unwilling to share the mic. During this, PPP’s Awan started crosstalk in the hall about the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s recent rallies. According to the reports, Awan had been told repeatedly to stop interrupting the proceedings, but this resulted in a direct clash with the deputy speaker. Furthermore, after Awan began reportedly “getting personal”, he was asked to temporarily leave the session.
Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf apologized on Awan’s behalf and sought a reversal of the ruling, but Suri refused to let someone who was impeding the NA go unpunished. In support, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker Ali Muhammad read from the rules and pointed out that Awan himself should apologize for not following the chair’s directives.
Awan, along with a few other opposition leaders, left the assembly hall and returned after a few minutes. During the absence of various opposition leaders, PTI’s Murad Saeed moved for a resolution to condemn the PDM rally in Quetta.
