ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Monday staged a walkout from both the Senate and National Assembly sessions, demanding that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership apologise for making statements against its top leaders.
The Senate session, chaired by Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani, saw heated exchanges after PPP Senator Sherry Rehman criticised PML-N’s political rhetoric amidst floods across Sindh and Punjab.
She said that millions had been affected by floods, yet instead of showing solidarity, political leaders were weakening the morale of the nation.
“The verbal war between the Punjab and Sindh governments is affecting the federal government,” she said, adding that “playing the Punjab card and crossing red lines is unacceptable.”
Rehman said comments about Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari were inappropriate. “Bilawal only said that the Benazir Income Support Programme should be used to assist flood victims,” she said. “Governments cannot function through public humiliation. Seeking an apology does not diminish anyone’s dignity.”
The senator said that the PPP had always advocated climate justice, pointing out that southern Punjab had been ravaged by floods and crops destroyed.
“I am ashamed to repeat the words that were uttered,” she said, warning that if no apology was offered, “we will not be taken for granted.”
Following her remarks, PPP senators tore up copies of the agenda and walked out of the session.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar expressed regret over the situation, saying, “If anyone’s sentiments were hurt, I feel sorry as a political worker.”
He said that President Asif Ali Zardari was a seasoned politician who would play a reconciliatory role.
Acting Senate Chairman directed Senators Khalil Tahir Sandhu, Afnan Ullah and Anusha Rahman to persuade the opposition members to return to the house.
Meanwhile, PTI Senator Ali Zafar took aim at both coalition parties, accusing them of competing for political mileage while flood victims continued to suffer.
“Perhaps the aid has reached their pockets instead of the victims,” he said, accusing both the PPP and PML-N of engaging in a “shameless contest” over who deceived the nation less.
Zafar said that flood victims’ children were still sleeping under the open sky, while both parties were “demanding trophies.”
“I give them a trophy for apathy, incompetence and greed,” he quipped, adding that 5,700 villages in Punjab remained submerged, destroying crops and livestock and affecting 18 million people.
He warned that the loss of 60 per cent of the rice and 30 per cent of the cotton crop would force the country to import goods worth $3 billion. “Yet these leaders are walking out of the House,” he said.
Zafar said that the decline in cotton production would hurt the textile and allied industries. “The government’s response is only for show. Most of the aid is being swallowed by corruption,” he alleged, holding the government and its allies responsible for the crisis.
Tensions escalated when PTI senators surrounded the chairman’s dais, demanding that their parliamentary leader be allowed to speak. “Until our leader is given the floor, no one else will speak,” they insisted.
Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the government would not allow “blackmailing,” adding, “You give wrong figures and false claims—this cannot continue.”
After a brief standoff, Ali Zafar was allowed to speak again. He urged depoliticising NDMA and PDMA, criticising the Punjab government for authorising the Ravi Urban Development Project (RUDA). “Our economy is on a ventilator, and the government is busy taking pictures,” he said.
When the deputy chairman, who chaired the later part of the session, asked what the government should do, Ali Zafar replied, “Our economy is on a ventilator.” The chair quipped, “So should we bring Shaukat Tarin back for that?”
Law Minister Tarar responded that the floods were a natural disaster, adding, “No human planning can prevent nature’s force. Today, our voice is being heard internationally. Even the US listens to us—unlike before.”
He mentioned that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had briefed ANP leader Aimal Wali Khan about his visits to Saudi Arabia, the US and the UN, to which Wali admitted he had been unaware of the details.
Senator Umar Farooq criticised a state minister for using “unbecoming language,” while Senator Kamran Murtaza raised concerns over an attack on a judge’s court in Khuzdar district, where the presiding officer had been abducted along with his vehicle.
The deputy chairman said that the Senate would discuss Balochistan-related issues on Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, PTI Senator Saifullah Abro pointed out a lack of quorum, leading to an exchange of hot words with the deputy chairman. When asked to sit down, Abro snapped, telling the chair to “lower his finger.” PTI members later staged a walkout from the Senate following the confrontation.