ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf took oath as the 22nd speaker of the National Assembly during a session on Saturday after he got elected to the post unopposed.
PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq, who was initially chairing the session, administered the oath on Ashraf. The PPP lawmaker was the lone contender for the speaker’s position as no other candidate had submitted nomination papers against him.
The office of the speaker had fallen vacant after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Asad Qaiser tendered his resignation in line with the party’s decision minutes before the voting on the no-confidence resolution against then-prime minister Imran Khan.
In his maiden address, Speaker Raja Pervez thanked Asif Ali Zardari, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other parliamentarians for electing him unopposed.
He said that a “new tradition” had been initiated in parliamentary history, adding that the speaker was the custodian of the house. He went on to say that for the past three years, the house had been “incomplete” as the former opposition went unheard.
“I consider it my duty to not to let the voice of the opposition get suppressed,” the NA speaker said, adding that it should be heard and respected. “There is a saying in English that the majority has its way, but the opposition must have its say. We have to always keep this in view,” he added.
Speaker Ashraf stated that all parliamentary and standing committees needed to be activated and strengthened. “Parliamentary democracy is the best way to resolve issues between countries.”
He said that there were many lawmakers though whom the honour of Pakistan and its democratic institutions could be increased. “This can be achieved by our participation in parliamentary friendship groups and international parliamentary institutions.”
Ashraf said that as the NA speaker, he would also try to maintain parliament’s ties with bar councils, human rights and labour organisations as well as students unions. “The participation of women is the secret behind the success of this house. I expect them to participate fully in proceedings,” he said, vowing to defend women’s rights.
Shehbaz gives reasons for loadshedding
Addressing the NA floor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that loadshedding was the result of “incompetence” on part of the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government.
The premier stated that power outages were not due to a lack of capacity, as the country had the ability to generate 35,000 MW of electricity- enough to meet the needs of every citizen.
Rather, PM Shehbaz said that several new power plants were dysfunctional due to oil and gas shortage, claiming the previous government responsible for “gross mismanagement.”
Earlier, the Power Division had informed the PM that there was currently no shortage of electricity in the country and power plants were closed because they either did not have fuel to run them or they faced technical difficulties.
PM Shehbaz was further informed that 18 power plants in the country were not functioning for the last one year because of closed units or technical faults.
Suri resigns as deputy speaker
The NA Secretariat had issued a four-point agenda for today’s sitting that included voting on the no-confidence resolution against Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, the election of the speaker and his oath-taking. However, Suri tendered his resignation less than an hour before the session was scheduled to begin.
Ayaz Sadiq began the session by announcing that Suri had tendered his resignation, which was met by loud applause from the lawmakers present. He said that Suri’s resignation had been verified by the NA secretariat, which would later issue the schedule for the election of the deputy speaker.
Sharing a copy of his resignation on Twitter, Suri said his move signified his association with the vision of his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), and democracy.
“We will never compromise on Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity. We will fight for the country’s interests and independence. We will go to any length to protect Pakistan,” he tweeted.
PTI leader and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry lauded Suri, stating that the way in which he “fought against a foreign conspiracy” would go down in history. He added that Suri would be remembered as someone who was brave and loyal to the country.
Suri, who had also been functioning as the acting speaker following the resignation of Asad Qaiser, faced severe criticism in recent days over a contentious April 3 ruling to dismiss a no-confidence motion against former prime minister Imran Khan and his decision to defer the session scheduled for the NA speaker’s election from April 16 to April 22 as a delaying tactic.
Earlier this week, he also came under fire for accepting the resignations of the PTI MNAs, who had quit the NA en masse right before the election of Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister following Khan’s ouster. The PPP and PML-N accused Suri of pressuring the NA secretariat into accepting the resignations.
