Opposition parties in National Assembly have opposed Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser’s move to bar seven parliamentarians from the assembly over their alleged involvement in fighting and usage of abusive language during the assembly session, reported 24NewsHD TV Channel Wednesday.

In a letter written to Speaker National Assembly and jointly signed by the leaders of all the opposition parties in the national assembly, the opposition said tens of Treasury Bench MNA's led by several Government Ministers verbally abused and physically attacked the Leader of the Opposition as he was making the opening speech on the Budget 2021-22 on behalf of the Opposition; copies of the budget documents were hurled at the Leader of the Opposition and other members of the Opposition.

“You were personally chairing this National Assembly sitting and are witness to the events that took place; in fact. You inexplicably adjourned the sitting and left the chair on three separate occasions. You are the custodian of the House and are responsible to maintain decorum and protect the dignity of the members and the House. This was the first occasion in the history of the National Assembly of Pakistan, and possibly parliamentary history worldwide, that Treasury Bench MNA's and Government Ministers have defied the Speaker and physically attacked the Opposition.”

In the letter, the opposition accused that the Speaker, unfortunately, turned a blind eye and remained silent on the violence and abuse.

“Mr Speaker, the decision of withdrawal of 7 MNA's from the National Assembly precincts announced in the media this afternoon does not even come close to recognizing the gravity of these events, is in violation of the rules and is not acceptable. Unless you initiate action immediately by first giving a decision on where the blame for the events lies, the Opposition cannot be expected to have any confidence in your impartiality or ability to run the House according to parliamentary norms and traditions. It is unfortunate that the Leader of the House has been absent and silent over these events; in fact, it is inconceivable that such behaviour by the Treasury Bench MNA's and Government Ministers could have taken place without his consent.”