"The Speaker is custodian of the house and he should take care of all the members," he urged the speaker to take cognisance of the inquiry against Munnawar Talpur. "Although Munawar Talpur is a respectable member of the National Assembly, police have been conducting raids on his house to arrest him," he added. PPP MNA and sister of former president Asif Ali Zardari Faryal Talpur also showed up in the House after a long time. However, she preferred to stay silent during proceedings of the house.
The PPP members later staged a walkout from the house to protest for what they called `unfair treatment being meted out to Munawar Talpur by federal agencies and institutions'. The MQM members said the local government elections were held in Karachi and rest of the country on the orders of Supreme Court, but now the Election Commission was causing inordinate delay in completing remaining process of the polls.
Later, MQM legislators also staged a token walkout from the house. Earlier speaking on the floor of the house, PTI member Sarwar Khan urged the government to ensure implementation of the National Action Plan across the board in all the four provinces.
He alleged that seminaries and mosques in Punjab have been receiving foreign funding but no action has, so far, been taken against the culprits under the NAP. Taking jibes on performance of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, he said that proscribed outfits were being registered under new names, while over 100 court absconders were moving freely in the interior minister's own constituency. "The interior minister benefits from the land mafia and killers in his constituency; therefore he doesn't take action against them," he alleged.
Talking about China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said the government has made the project controversial by keeping its details and funds secret. The Gilgit-Baltistan is a gateway for the project, but the government has allocated nothing from the CPEC for the people of the area, he said, adding that issues of national importance shouldn't be politicised.
Sarwar Khan also accused the government of withdrawing subsidy on wheat being provided to people of Gilgit-Baltistan. "Gilgit-Baltistan is a disputed territory and the government has been collecting taxes from the people there in violation of the UN Charter," he opined. Responding to Sarwar Khan's allegations, PML-N MNA Malik Ibrar said the interior minister is an honest person and peace and stability being restored in the country was due to his policies.
"The NAP is being implemented in letter and spirit and all credit for it goes to Chaudhry Nisar," he said. Aliya Kamran was of the view that the government has not yet delivered to the people. Voicing her concern over sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities and increasing ratio of unemployment, she criticised the government for imposing taxes worth Rs 40 billion.
Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also responded to allegations of Sarwar Khan, saying the CPEC was a `fate-changer' and is being implemented across the country. "The opposition members should not politicise the CPEC as the project is going to benefit the whole country," he said, adding the positive results of the NAP could be seen by everyone. PPP MNA Nauman Islam Shaikh pointed quorum in the house, saying the government doesn't have the courtesy to bring back the PPP members who had walked out in protest against the government. As the house was not in order, the speaker had to adjourn the proceedings till Tuesday morning.