ISLAMABAD: Asia Azeem of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was sworn in as National Assembly member on reserved seat for women during a session on Friday, replacing Dr. Shireen Mazari, whose resignation was accepted by Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
Dr Mazari was one of the 123 PTI lawmakers who had resigned from the National Assembly in line with the party policy in April. Mazari, who was elected on a reserved seat for women, was also among the 11 lawmakers whose resignations were accepted by speaker in July.
Azeem took oath as an MNA in defiance of the party policy and had joined the PTI defectors. Speaking on the floor for the first time, Azeem stressed the need for dialogue to find solutions to the problems. “We are not enemies, just political rivals,” she said.
The lawmaker called for actions to end the politics of hate, saying that bullying was not the job of politicians. “We reject those who spread mischief on Earth. Allah commands us not to spread mischief on Earth,” she said.
Azeem said that the government alone could not resolve all the problems, therefore, parliament had to find the solutions. She emphasised on the supremacy of parliament. She called for devising a procedure for the appointment of judges.
Meanwhile, during the session, chaired by the speaker, the house was informed that the fuel adjustment charges for the current month were reduced to less than Rs1 per unit, as the government was providing maximum relief to the masses on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Power Minister Khurram Dastgir also told the lawmakers that the power sector had provided relief of Rs65 billion to farmers, industrialists and flood-affected people on the prime minister’s instructions.
Speaking on a point of order, Water Resources Minister Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah demanded of the government to declare agriculture, water, infrastructure and rains emergency to cope with the challenges posed by the devastating floods in the country.
The minister told the house that 80% of crops in Sindh had been destroyed. “Trees worth billions of rupees will wither away if floodwater does not recede. We have to divert funds toward flood management,” he added.
Shah said that Pakistan was bearing the brunt of climate change, in which the country had no contribution. “Overall, Pakistan is facing loss of trillions of rupees due to climate change. The world must compensate Pakistan as its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is negligible.”
Meanwhile, the house passed the Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2022. Besides four bills were introduced in the House, which were referred to the relevant standing committees.
The bills introduced on Friday were the Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Trade Dispute Resolution Bill, 2022, The Naturalisation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Securities and Futures Market Bill, 2022. The House was adjourned till Monday evening. –Agencies
