After three months, the government summoned the session of the National Assembly (NA) in haste which made opposition furious as well as left many members of the government astonished and then lasted in minutes, draining millions of rupees from the national exchequer.
According to the rules, the emergency meeting of NA can be summoned on the notice of 72 hours.
However, the NA session that lasted minutes was summoned on the notice of less than 12 hours which aggravated the opposition and drained millions of rupees from the exchequer.
The opposition members were furious that they learned about the session on Thursday through media on a notice shorter than prescribed.
The session of NA was summoned after a gap of three months amid the coronavirus situation.
PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal criticized that the National Assembly had become a theatre and the legislators came to know about Friday’s proceedings during wee hours.
PPP leader Syed Naveed Qamar said that the lawmakers had to rush to Islamabad from different parts of the country.
Naveed said he was also present in his native town on Thursday.
However, the proceeding on the first day lasted without execution of any business due to the death of MNA Noor Muhammad Shah Jilani.
During the past three months, the government ran the affairs with a reliance on Presidential ordinances.
Meanwhile, the current session has been called at a time when the tensions between the government and the opposition are high.
Further, senior journalist M.B Soomro said that it was the responsibility of the NA secretariat to issue a gazetted notice regarding the session inscribed with all details including time and date.
However, if an emergency meeting is to be called within 72 hours, the secretariat was not bound to issue a separate notice to every lawmaker.
Instead, the notice can be advertised on the radio, television, and other mediums while the lawmakers could be informed through telephone or telegram too.
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He added that the government did not fulfill any legal condition and the legislators were informed about Friday’s meeting on Thursday which was thus a violation of rules.
MB Soomro said that it was not possible for many MNAs from remote areas of Pakistan to reach Islamabad on such short notice.
In many areas, there is a network problem along with no internet facility.
The journalist said the locals of Islamabad may not realize that many parts of the country face prolonged power outages even today due to which gadgets could not be charged while facility television wasn’t available all the time.
Soomro said that it was even difficult for many legislators from remote areas of Sindh and Balochistan to reach Islamabad even if they are informed 72 hours prior.