A joint session of the Parliament is currently discussing two resolutions regarding the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
asserted
session → discuss → Pakhtunkhwa
The joint session of the National Assembly and the Senate is taking place a day after both Houses of Parliament, in separate sittings, passed resolutions endorsing the imposition of emergency in KP.
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Houses → take → KP
According to Article 232, if the “president acts on his own, the Proclamation of Emergency shall be placed” before both Houses of the Parliament for approval by each House within 10 days.
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Proclamation → accord → days
Meanwhile, a proclamation for governor’s rule issued under Article 234 “shall be laid before a joint sitting and shall cease to be in force at the expiration of two months”, unless a joint sitting approves its extension.
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sitting → issue → extension
However, such a measure shall not remain in force for more than six months.
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measure → remain → months
The Centre imposed governor’s rule and emergency in KP on Oct 11, citing the provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism.
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Centre → impose → terrorism
The move followed weeks of political tensions between the Centre and the PTI after the latter announced a long march to Islamabad to demand the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan.
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latter → follow → founder
During Thursday’s joint sitting, opposition members turned up carrying placards inscribed with slogans, such as “emergency na manzoor (emergency is unacceptable)”.
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emergency → turn → slogans
At the outset of the proceedings, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry presented a motion under Rule 232 of the Parliament (Joint Sitting) Rules 1973 to suspend certain sub-rules so he could move the resolutions.
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he → present → resolutions
As loud noes echoed and opposition members chanted “emergency na manzoor”, NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq again put the motion to a vote by asking the members to stand up, which was then adopted with 214-56 votes.
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which → echo → votes
Subsequently, Chaudhry moved two resolutions before the joint sitting — one for the Proclamation of Emergency under Article 232 and the second for the proclamation of governor’s rule under Article 234.
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Chaudhry → move → Article
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar then opened the discussion on the two resolutions.
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Tarar → open → resolutions
Noting that a resolution regarding the imposition of emergency also required to be passed by a joint sitting, Tarar said a special mechanism has been put in place in KP to run its affairs during the emergency and governor’s rule.
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mechanism → note → emergency
He said members of the treasury benches were ready to reply to any query raised by the opposition.
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members → say → opposition
The law minister highlighted that the PTI-led government in KP, which now stands non-functional, was advised time and again to tackle terrorism.
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which → highlight → terrorism
He again lamented that PTI leaders did not attend any funeral of martyrs who lost their lives in terrorist attacks.
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who → lament → attacks
Tarar went on to stress that governor’s rule was imposed under Article 234, which allows the move if any provincial government was being run against the Constitution.
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government → go → Constitution
Explaining the constitutional process to approve the resolution for emergency, he said the joint sitting could reject it by a total majority, ie 51 per cent.
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sitting → explain → majority
Similarly, the resolution for governor’s rule also required a total majority of votes for approval.
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resolution → require → approval
At the outset of the sitting, the Parliament offered prayers for the lives lost, mostly of children, in a roof collapse in Peshawar.
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Parliament → offer → Peshawar
Achakzai blames ‘faulty decisions’
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Achakzai → blame → decisions
Speaking in the Parliament, NA Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai blamed “faulty decisions” of the country’s rulers for the current situation.
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Achakzai → speak → situation
He enquired about the whereabouts of Sohail Afridi, the KP chief minister whose role is now non-functional and was reported to be in preventative custody.
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role → enquire → custody
Achakzai, who leads the opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP), accused PML-N’s Sadiq of not running the house judiciously as the speaker.
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who → lead → speaker
He said the opposition was ready for dialogue on issues such as empowerment of Parliament and eradicating terrorism of all kinds.
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opposition → say → kinds
“If you hold dialogue on these issues, we will give unconditional support,” he added.
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he → hold → support
The opposition leader compared the KP imbroglio to the 1971 separation of East Pakistan, noting that Afridi was called a “terrorist”.
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Afridi → compare → Pakistan
“Were multiple attacks on the heads of different political parties in the past in KP committed by Sohail Afridi?” he asked.
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he → commit → Afridi
Achakzai said terrorism was introduced by those who had brought fighters for the Soviet-Afghan war.
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who → say → war
“When the Afghan war was over, these terrorists were left free in the tribal areas of the country and they started killing Pakistanis,” he added.
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he → leave → Pakistanis
The opposition leader then mentioned the reported deaths during the July unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
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leader → mention → Jammu
The TTAP chief sought meetings of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan with his family, friends and party workers.
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chief → seek → family
He questioned who had “sent” ex-premier Nawaz Sharif to exile in Saudi Arabia and who “murdered” ex-PM Benazir Bhutto.
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who → question → Bhutto
The NA speaker took exception to Achakzai’s remarks on his chairing of the session.
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speaker → take → session
“You are saying to me that I am not running the House correctly.
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I → say → House
You have not read Rule 30.
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You → read → Rule
Someone takes their mobile phone; someone disrupts [the proceedings].”
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someone → take → proceedings
Sadiq further said recordings of members’ speeches that were “anti-state” would not be uploaded on the NA’s social media accounts.
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that → say → accounts
Meanwhile, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas accused the government’s delegation of derailing the dialogue with the opposition, including the Oct 3 talks.
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Abbas → accuse → talks
The Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) chief said some more time should have been allowed to make the talks successful and called for resolving the public’s issues instead of blaming each other.
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talks → say → other
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
