Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan on Tuesday wrote to the NA speaker over “censoring” his speech in the House.
Earlier in November of last year, a NA session was adjourned indefinitely after the opposition leader’s remarks on last night’s swift legislation were expunged from the record.
In a letter addressed to the speaker, Khan said: “Despite your ruling and personal commitment made on the floor of the House, my speech was, in fact, blocked, censored, and the continuity of parliamentary proceedings and debate was deliberately interrupted by the Media and Photography Wing of the NA.”
“This act of suppression occurred in direct violation of your explicit assurance and has inflicted serious damage on the transparency of parliamentary business,” the opposition leader added.
“As the leader of the opposition, I had formally sought and was assured by your good self, in your capacity as speaker that my speech would be broadcast live, without interruption, censorship, or selective blocking, in order to safeguard the parliamentary right of debate for all members, including those on the opposition benches,” he continued.
Khan said that this assurance explicitly extended to the live transmission on the official Parliament TV channel as well as coverage by national media networks.
He complained that his request for access to the official audio and video recordings of his speech from the NA general media and photography wing were denied without any lawful justification, “even though no portion of the speech was ordered to be expunged by the Chair.”
“The actions of Secretary General Mr Tahir Hussain, and the Director General (Media) Mr Zafar Sultan Khan, who are duty-bound to implement your ruling, have instead willfully disregarded it.
“By obstructing the rightful participation of opposition members and withholding fair media coverage, they have committed a serious breach of privilege. Their conduct has undermined both the authority of the speaker and the institutional integrity of this House.”
The opposition leader referred to Article 66 of the Constitution, while deals with the privileges of members and provides complete freedom of speech in parliament and no member can be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by them in the house.
“This constitutional guarantee safeguards the right of members to speak freely and to have their voices heard fully, both within and beyond the House,” he concluded.
Last year in March, Khan had said that his speech as the leader of the opposition was not live-streamed and was censored.
Referring to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s speech after being elected as the prime minister, he said, “His speech was shown live and mine was interrupted again and again.”
