Reports of NA being run on ‘phone calls’ creating anomaly: Fawad

ISLAMABAD, June 29 (SABAH):  Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry has claimed on Wednesday there were reports that the National Assembly was being run on “phone calls” which he described as an “anomaly” in the country.

“You are seeing what has been happening in the Parliament for the past three days. Two days ago, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) said that the assembly is being run on phone calls.  Fehmida Mirza also said the same thing,” he said at a media talk outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) alongside Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Shireen Mazari and Asad Umar.

Fawad was referring to comments made by Aslam Bhootani, an independent MNA from Gwadar, during the budget debate in the NA earlier this week.

The lawmaker had lodged a strong protest against Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal for not including development schemes in his Lasbela constituency in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), despite repeated requests by PPP’s Asif Zardari, and even Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“Then, I requested those [quarters] from where we normally receive telephone calls — if their calls still held any weight — to ask Ahsan Iqbal,” said Bhootani without elaborating further about the telephone calls.

Khalid Magsi of the BAP also expressed similar feelings, saying it seems that those who were desperate to obtain their support at the time of the no-confidence vote, “do not like our faces now.”

Fawad claimed that the assembly was no longer independent as a ‘biased’ speaker was running a “biased” session.

“This news has caused an anomaly in the country,” he stated, stressing that for economic stability, it was extremely important for Pakistan to be politically stable.

Fawad said Pakistan’s Constitution had been “abandoned” since May 25, claiming that none of the functions in the state were being performed as per the Constitution. “Why isn’t the Supreme Court hearing the reference filed by Faisal Vawda? Why isn’t it forming a commission on the cipher despite several letters by the President?

“What will you achieve out of isolating PTI? Are you expecting the country’s biggest political party to form militant wings? Are you expecting it to engage in bloodshed?” he asked.

All these things, the former minister said, were causing a crisis in the country. “And the only way out is to hold fresh elections. Political stability comes when you abide by the Constitution. And that happens when you go towards fresh elections.”

Meanwhile, PTI secretary general Asad Umar claimed that the Punjab government was just counting its days and would soon come to an end.

“The court’s order is out on reserved seats. We have submitted an application demanding ECP to issue the notification on these seats because there is an illegal government in Punjab right now,” he said.