Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Thursday urged the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to replace Hamza Shehbaz as leader of the opposition.
Talking to Daily Times, PPP Parliamentary Leader Syed Hassan Murtaza said that Hamza Shehbaz was busy with his cases. “Therefore, he cannot spare time for parliamentary affairs. This is severely hampering the performance of opposition in Punjab. A serious lack of coordination exists between him and the rest of the opposition. This is evident from the fact that the opposition could not submit the amendments on the local government bill on time and the government managed to pass the bill with ease,” the PPP leader said.
He further added that the PML-N had not taken the PPP into confidence on its decision of boycotting the election of chairmen of standing committees and took a solo flight. “This is a matter of serious concern for us,” he said.
“The incumbent opposition leader does not have much time for the parliamentary politics and therefore the opposition cannot give tough time to the government due to lack of coordination between Hamza Shehbaz and other parties sitting on the opposition benches in the Punjab Assembly,” he said.
The PPP demanded that the PML-N should nominate any other seasoned parliamentarian instead of Hamza as opposition leader who would be in a better position to give sufficient time to the parliamentary politics.
Such a move will be a setback for the PML-N in Punjab Assembly at a time when the party is demanding the office of Public Accounts Committee chairman for Hamza. A good working relationship could be seen between the PML-N and PPP in the Punjab Assembly in the recent past. However, some solo decisions taken by the PML-N have perturbed the PPP.
The PML-N is also boycotting the election of chairmen of standing committees as the government is reluctant to name Hamza as the PAC chairman.
Hassan Murtza said that it was a justified stance of the PPP that the opposition leader should be made the PAC chairman. “All the members of opposition should also boycott the elections of standing committees if the government does not fulfill its commitment. However, we are concerned that the PML-N did not consult us before going for the boycott,” he said.
“We are an independent parliamentary party and can take decisions on our own. Therefore, we are not boycotting the elections of chairmen standing committees,” Murtaza said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Mussarat Jamshed Cheema was elected the chairperson of the Punjab Assembly’s Standing Committee on Home on Thursday. The PML-N boycotted the election, while PPP MPA Rais Nabeel participated in the process.
