Pakistan: Opposition leader Bilawal Bhutto urges Speaker Asad Qaiser to 'respect his own chair, position'

Bhutto began his speech at the joint session of parliament by urging the Speaker to "respect his own chair", "respect his own position" and "respect the House", Geo TV reported.

He further said the Speaker is the custodian of Pakistan's National Assembly and had agreed in writing that legislation will be brought in only after consensus.

"If we were all legislating together, the next election would have been transparent," the PPP chief said.

Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif called the electronic voting machines (EVMs) as "evil and vicious machines" and slammed Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government for not being serious in creating consensus on electoral reforms.

Speaking at the joint session of parliament, Sharif said it is "illegal" for the government and its allies trying to bulldoze key bills.

Shehbaz, who had earlier today written a letter to National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to express his grievances about the haste in passing the bills without a consensus, said that initially the joint session was delayed after the government said it would consult with the opposition on the issue, Dawn reported.

During the session, he told the Speaker, "I have received your letter. We have carefully considered your letter and given you the full answer. I commend the opposition members for not coming under government pressure."
According to Dawn report, the PML-N chief said the proposal for consultations was a "ploy to buy time" so that the government could secure the votes it needed.
"You had no intention of doing consultations on the issue," he said.
He opined that the "selected government" wanted to introduce EVMs as it could no longer ask for votes.

On the results transmission system (RTS), he said the PTI-led government came to power in 2018 using the 'road transport system'.

"Now the road transport system is being abandoned for the evil [and] vicious machine," he said.

Like Bilawal, he also urged the Speaker to realise his responsibility as Speaker of the House and not allow the bills to be bulldozed in the session.

He also decried the "illegal and unconstitutional" way the bills were presented, Dawn reported.

He further said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also expressed concerns on the EVMS.

"If you allow this black law to be passed, then Pakistan will be severely damaged for which responsibility will be on you and them," he told Qaiser.

"If the government used the energy that it is spending on this issue to tackle inflation, then we might have seen a difference. But they are not concerned. They are only concerned with remaining in power without securing the people's vote," he added.