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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan gave instructions on Friday to National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar regarding legislation.
According to the Prime Minister Office, the speaker called on the prime minister shortly before he proceeded on a six-day foreign visit.
The meeting is believed to be quite significant as it came before the commencement of a fresh session of the lower house on April 12. The speaker is expected to return on April 10.
“The prime minister discussed matters related to legislation and the coming session of the National Assembly,” an official handout said.
It said the prime minister hailed the formation of a special committee on agriculture and hoped that the body would help solve farmers’ problems.
Imran Khan told Asad Qaiser that he wanted legislation to ensure that the special people did not face discrimination in provision of jobs and educational opportunities.
Some opposition leaders, including former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, have accused the speaker of being “partial” and “under pressure”. Asad Qaiser has dismissed such claims, saying he was “impartial” and running the house without any pressure.
Some leaders of even the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have complained to the prime minister that the speaker tended to give more time to the opposition than the treasury members during National Assembly sessions.
Interestingly, in the video footage of the meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Asad Qaiser issued by the PM Office, the body language of the prime minister clearly indicated that he was not satisfied with the speaker’s performance. The prime minister seemed to be in an aggressive mood and inclined to reprimanding him.
According to sources, Imran Khan asked the speaker why no legislation was being done in the lower house. Asad Qaiser cited unending protests by the opposition as the main reason.
It is feared that the opposition will become more aggressive in the coming session in the wake of the appointment of retired Brig Ijaz Shah as federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
Before her assassination in 2007, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had named Ijaz Shah among the four persons who should be held responsible in case of her murder.
Pakistan Peoples Party’s senior leader Syed Khursheed Shah has made it clear that his party could not negotiate with Ijaz Shah on any matter regarding legislation. He said the appointment of Ijaz Shah was an intentional move of the government to spoil the atmosphere of the house.
The PPP has taken the stance at a time when the government is planning to brief the opposition on the National Action Plan (NAP), with special reference to military courts, whose two-year mandate expired last month.
The government favours an extension to military courts, but it needs a two-thirds majority — an impossibility without cooperation from the other side.