A session of the National Assembly to debate on a resolution calling for the protection of the sanctity of the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was held in Islamabad on Tuesday and attended by all major political parties except for the PPP which boycotted it.
The session was adjourned by Speaker Asad Qaiser without any major inroads made and will resume on Friday, April 23, at 11am.
He called upon the government and the Opposition to sit down together in the meanwhile and formulate a unanimous resolution.
Resolution for formation of committee accepted
During today’s session, the resolution — a private member one — was presented in parliament by PTI MNA Amjad Ali Khan. It centres around whether or not the French ambassador to Pakistan should be expelled after French President Emmanuel Macron defended the right of Charlie Hebdo magazine to republish blasphemous cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Amjad Ali Khan, in this regard, requested the formation of a special parliamentary committee to discuss the French envoy’s expulsion.
Following the MNA’s request, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan presented a separate resolution for the formation of the committee.
The resolution, after a voice vote, was declared by NA Speaker Asad Qaiser as approved by the parliament, amid loud chants of objection by the Opposition.
PML-N’s Abbasi calls for an hour to review ‘insufficient’ resolution
During today’s debate, PML-N stalwart and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi regretted that the government called an emergency session of the National Assembly (it was originally set to take place on April 22) and did not speak to the Opposition about its intention to do so.
“The way to go about it is that you speak to the Opposition. I will say again that there is no two ways about the sanctity of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). [But] this resolution is unfortunately insufficient.
He requested that the Opposition be given an hour so they can review the resolution.
