ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly session on Wednesday became heated after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi engaged in a fiery debate ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s expected speech.

In his speech, Bilawal Bhutto claimed that the government “rigged” Tuesday’s vote on the federal budget. The PPP chairman said that according to the rules, the NA speaker was obligated to carry out a count when a voice vote was challenged and it was not a matter of his “choice”.

He said the final vote on the budget was what really mattered and that some treasury members had exhibited “irresponsible behaviour” at the time, lamenting the fact that members from the opposition benches were also missing.

“If you had carried out the count, we would’ve at least brought our stance on record. I stood up at the time of the last vote and challenged your ruling, but you stood up and left, ” Bilawal said, addressing National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser. As a result, the budget’s legitimacy was undermined, he said.

“Is it not rigging if we can’t record our vote during the budget debate or during the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) debate. Is this not against the rules, ” he questioned.

Taking a dig at Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Bhutto said that an “unelected member” kept rejecting the Opposition’s amendments.

“According to Rule 276, if there is a voice vote challenge, you have to count it, ” said Bhutto.

Bhutto told the speaker that he challenged the vote during the last phase of the legislation but “you did not listen to me”.

“What else is it, if not rigging?” the PPP leader asked before concluding his speech, leaving and then returning when the foreign minister challenged him to come back.

Responding to Bilawal, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi lashed out at the PPP chairman for leveling allegations of violating parliamentary tradition. “What are you talking about? In Sindh, where you have the government, you did not allow the opposition leader to speak, ” he said.

He stated that the speaker is the custodian of the house and his character had been “targeted” by the opposition. “You can have reservations about the speaker’s decision, but you take it up in his chamber. You don’t confront them on the floor of the house, ” he said.

He said that the charter of diplomacy states that the chairmanship of the provincial Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is given to the opposition. “Have you done that? Have you given the opposition representation in the provincial standing committees? What parliamentary tradition are you talking about?”

The minister also questioned the basis on which Bilawal had challenged the legitimacy of the budget. “In Sindh, the opposition is not being allowed to speak, ” he said, referring to the barring of at least eight opposition lawmakers from the Sindh Assembly.

In comparison, the opposition is being given more time in the National Assembly, he said. He also questioned the absence of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif during Tuesday’s session.

“The leader of the opposition wasn’t present during the debate on the finance bill while 25 PML-N members were missing, ” he said. He stated that the opposition would not be able to suppress the government by making noise, holding the former responsible for spoiling the atmosphere of the lower house.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security will be held in Islamabad today (Thursday) to discuss Afghan situation.

He said important leaders of the opposition parties and leaders of the parliamentary parties have been invited to attend the meeting. He said that the leaders will be taken into confidence with regards to recent developments in Afghanistan and the national security. He said the opposition parties were also invited to the foreign office where they were briefed about Pakistan’s viewpoint on the Afghan situation.

The Foreign Minister strongly criticized the opposition members for targeting the personality of the speaker. He said the speaker is the custodian of the house and targeting him is contrary to rules and procedures.

In response to the foreign minister, Bilawal said that Qureshi was criticising the party which had made him the foreign minister and the president of the party’s Punjab chapter. “I have heard him say jiye Bhutto and agli bari, phir Zardari to protect his ministry, ” he said. He also questioned his role as foreign minister, holding him responsible for being involved in making alleged deals on Kashmir.

“When the United States is withdrawing from Afghanistan, he should be focusing on arranging a phone call with President Joe Biden due to Pakistan’s strategic importance. It is a matter of shame that our premier doesn’t even get a phone call, ” he said.

He said that the Sindh assembly speaker had banned opposition lawmakers for creating a ruckus. “The Pakistan resolution was passed from the Sindh Assembly, ” he said, adding that the opposition had not presented a single cut motion during provincial budget proceedings. “This shows you their seriousness.”

“The prime minister should tell the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to tap Qureshi’s phone. When he was the foreign minister during the PPP’s government, he used to campaign in the world asking to make him premier instead of Yousuf Raza Gilani, ” he said.

Responding to the concerns raised by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other opposition members, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser said the house passed the finance bill 2021 yesterday as per the rules and procedures.

He said 244 members from opposition and treasury benches participated in the general discussion on the budget. He said the record time of almost ninety three hours was given to the budget which shows seriousness of the members of parliament towards parliamentary oversight and their constitutional responsibility in this regard.