by Javaid-ur-Rahman in the Nation, Dec 17, 2020
ISLAMABAD – Since the government is making strategy to deal with threat of en-masse resignations, the opposition believes that the government is ‘indecisive and frightened’ to summon the National Assembly session.
The government, without sharing any reasons with the opposition, has not summoned the National Assembly session for the last two months. The threats of en-bloc resignations and no-confidence motion have frightened the government to delay in calling the National Assembly session, background discussions with the opposition lawmakers claimed.
On the other hand, the government side wants to call the National Assembly session after carefully observing the situation arising out due to COVID-19.
Talking to The Nation, PPP-P’s information secretary Nafeesa Shah said that the government had not consulted with the opposition for calling the National Assembly. “Corona is just an excuse for not calling the National Assembly session, as all the markets and shopping malls are open,” said PPP-P MNA mentioning that the PTI’s government had no courage to face the opposition in the parliament.
“We [Joint] opposition have frightened the incumbent government, which compels us to submit requisition in the national assembly secretariat,” she said, adding that the government should have performed its obligation to call the national assembly session as soon as possible. When contacted, PML-N’s MNA Murtaza Javed Abbasi claimed that government had no courage to face opposition and even its allied partners in the parliament.
“The government has failed to address reservations of its coalition partners. They are shy to face them in parliament and are trying to address the reservations before the upcoming session of the National Assembly,” said the former deputy speaker.
He said, “The government can summon session of the National Assembly in the current Corona crisis but it is deliberately using delaying tactics”. About the no-confidence motion in the parliament, he said that opposition had many plans in the fore. “The government wILL be surprised to see moves of opposition in and outside the parliament,” he said.
Political pundits argue that the government should have not provided opportunity to blame it for using delaying tactics. The parliamentary session would rather go in the favour of the government in the current political crisis. They said that the opposition have also not exercised its option to submit requisition for calling the session of the national assembly. They said that the government wants to create a difference of opinion in joint opposition over the issue of en-masse resignation from the parliament. As Interior Minister Sheikh Rashidin his recent media talk commented that PPP-P always believes in democratic system in the country.
The political crisis deepens after eleven opposition parties announced the option of en masse by the end of this month from Parliament with an aim to paralyse the government. They have also been forcing the Prime Minister to step down and to call early snap polls. These decisions were taken at the platform of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), mainly formed to overthrow the government.
https://nation.com.pk/17-Dec-2020/opposition-believes-govt-scared-of-na-session
