• None of 90-point agenda items taken up amid noisy protests
• Lawmakers decry surge in petroleum prices, power tariffs
• PML-N MNA says protesting journalists put forth ‘genuine demands’ about layoffs, unpaid salaries

ISLAMABAD: The opposition in the National Assembly on Friday staged a fierce protest in the House against a sharp increase in the price of petroleum products, forcing the chair to adjourn the House without transacting any business.

The House had a 90-point agenda, including the Question Hour, a calling attention notice on the drastic change in the net metering policy for solar prosumers and a decision to propose an 18 per cent tax on solar panels, as well as a number of bills.

However, none of them could be taken up as the opposition’s noisy protest started before the Question Hour could start.

Several opposition members wanted to speak on the exorbitant increase in petroleum prices as the House echoed with the slogans of “We don’t accept a thief government” and “looter government unacceptable”.

Slogans were also chanted against the massive increase in petroleum prices and power tariffs.

The opposition members surrounded the speaker’s podium and tore copies of the agenda.

NA Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah, who was presiding over the session, kept assuring the members that everybody would be allowed to speak after the Question Hour but failed to calm the protesting lawmakers.

He then allowed PTI lawmaker from Malakand, Junaid Akbar Khan, to speak for two minutes.

The PTI MNA, in his speech, said this “incompetent and corrupt” government was “imposed” on Pakistan. “Last night, you saw how this imposed government dropped a petrol bomb on the people.”

The deputy speaker was annoyed when Junaid Akbar spoke against an institution, saying, “If you speak against institutions like this, I won’t let the session continue.”

The opposition’s protest continued after Junaid Akbar’s speech, which was censored on state-run TV and the NA’s YouTube channel.

“You cannot dictate to the chair like this,” the deputy speaker remarked, and adjourned the session till Monday at 5pm.

Journalists’ demands

At the very outset of the proceedings, the chair sought to know the details of the government delegation’s conversation with the journalists who had staged a walkout from the press gallery a day earlier.

PML-N lawmaker Munaza Hassan informed the chair that she, along with PPP’s Shazia Marri and fellow party lawmaker Barrister Aqeel Malik, had met the protesting journalists, who put forth some genuine demands.

She said media houses were firing journalists unjustly without even serving notice, and some of them had not paid salaries for the last three months.

She added that some media houses were paying their employees salaries below the minimum wage. She further said that the journalists had also expressed alarm over the decision to withdraw the facility of discounts on railway tickets.

She was of the view that the information minister and the NA speaker should intervene to ensure that these issues are addressed.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2026