News Analysis |
The war of words between the government and opposition has escalated. Former Defence Minister Mr. Khawaja Asif issued threats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government if it does not allow opposition leader Mr. Shahbaz Sharif to come and attend the national assembly sessions.
The former minister was speaking to media persons along with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Ms. Marriyum Aurangzeb and former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi when he asserted that his party wanted to bring the issue of Mr. Naeemul Haque’s threats in the House but they were not allowed to do so by the speaker.
It is worth mentioning that the mini-budget presented by the Finance Minister Mr. Asad Umer was unexpected for media houses as well as opposition parties in the parliament.
It is worth mentioning here that the PTI leader Mr. Naeemul Haque slammed the opposition leader for his derogatory remarks against the Prime Minister during the national assembly session. Mr. Haque took to the twitter and verbally attacked Mr. Sharif for calling PM Imran Khan a selected Prime Minster who avoids attending the NA sessions.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister Khan, Mr. Haque slammed the opposition leader and reminded him of his ongoing inquiry before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). He also pointed out that the production orders of the younger Sharif were not issued so that he attends the session and abuses the PM.
Read more: Why did PTI’s Naeemul Haque slam the leader of Opposition?
Several media outlets took Mr. Haque’s comments out of the context and blamed him for issuing a threat to the opposition leader. The same was repeated by the PML-N leaders on Friday during a media talk. PML-N leaders were seen angry not only at Mr. Haque but the entire government.
While responding to Mr. Asif, Federal Minister for Information Mr. Fawad Chaudhary said that he “couldn’t understand the opposition’s behavior. For they accuse the prime minister of not appearing in the House, but when he does, they start causing a ruckus”. He alleged that opposition parties abuse the prime minister and then claim that the government is disrupting parliamentary proceedings. “They need to learn to respect the office of the prime minister first”, he stated.
Political commentators maintain that the ongoing controversy generated by the opposition and misreported by certain media houses will help the opposition to create a narrative against the ruling party to brand the later as ‘abusive’ and ‘undemocratic’.
Observers argue that the ongoing protest by the opposition is a deliberate move to divert the attention of the government from the main agenda. It is worth mentioning that the mini-budget presented by the Finance Minister Mr. Asad Umer was unexpected for media houses as well as opposition parties in the parliament. It was expected that the PTI will come up with increased taxation policy and burden on the shoulders of the public will get increased.
Contrary to the expectations, the PTI government presented an economic reform package which made happy not only common citizens but also traders and investors. Analysts opine that unexpected economic reform package caused panic in the opposition benches which led to non-parliamentary language and derogatory words for the PM.
Read more: Pakistan’s budget deficit could expand due to election spending
Political commentators maintain that the ongoing controversy generated by the opposition and misreported by certain media houses will help the opposition to create a narrative against the ruling party to brand the later as ‘abusive’ and ‘undemocratic’. However, the government’s focus on generating economic and reforming the institutions is likely to be helpful to counter it, they added.