• Syedal Khan Nasar includes Nawaz Sharif among them; threatens to suspend members who violate the ruling
• ‘He makes fun of himself’ by prohibiting a legislator from participating in the session for signaling the quorum
ISLAMABAD: In a rare ruling that left many red-faced, Senate Deputy Speaker Syedal Khan Nasar on Thursday banned criticism of “national heroes” and political leadership in the House.
“You cannot speak against the political heroes who suffered martyrdom, went into exile, worked for the nation and the country, carried out nuclear tests and manufactured [the] nuclear bomb,” he remarked as soon as the day’s agenda in the Senate ended amid voices of dissent from the opposition benches.
The vice president of the Senate asserted that he could impose such a ban, declaring that the House would now operate under the law.
“No one can speak against the institutions, the national heroes and the leaders of the political parties,” he added.
When Awami National Party (ANP) chief Aimal Wali Khan asked who these “national heroes” were, Nasar replied that they included former prime ministers Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif; nuclear scientist Dr AQ Khan; and all those who signed the 1973 Constitution.
“A handful of elements cannot hold the House hostage,” he said before abruptly adjourning the House to meet again on Friday (today).
Minutes earlier, Nasar said he needed a minute to say something crucial and had assured a senator, who wanted to speak on a point of public importance, that he would be given time.
The Senate vice president said maintaining the dignity of the House was a shared responsibility and it was the president’s job to run it according to the rules.
He added that the Speaker had the power to issue a strict order for the decorum of the House. “This also includes the power under Rule 246 to suspend a member who obstructs House proceedings,” he continued.
Nasar recalled that he had also issued a ruling in this regard on February 18, but regretted that some members of the opposition benches were continuously disrupting the debates in the House.
He warned that he will not refrain from taking extreme measures to carry out the process smoothly, if the undisciplined behavior continues.
Without naming the PTI, the vice president said he would write a letter to the party’s parliamentary leader, seeking instructions for its members to act according to the law and rules.
He expressed alarm at the practice of members gathering around the president’s podium.
Nasar stressed that the president and his decisions must be respected.
The vice president of the Senate, who stressed the need to carry out the process according to the law and rules, surprised many during question time by punishing an opposition deputy for having indicated the quorum.
Banning the opposition senator who had signaled the quorum from participating in the session, Nasar said: “This is my decision.”
However, many saw the ruling as contrary to established norms and established parliamentary practice.
Government negligence
Earlier, during Question Hour, PPP Senator Shahadat Awan lamented the delay in disbursing postal life insurance claims to around 34,000 people, including widows and orphans, calling it a failure on the part of the government his party was allied with.
Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan candidly admitted that it was indeed incompetence and “negligence” of the government that the disbursements from the Postal Life Insurance Company Limited (PLICL) could not be released to the people on time.
The Minister also agreed with Mr Awan that under the Insurance Ordinance 2000, PLIC was required to pay compensation for delays exceeding 90 days, calculated on a monthly basis with an additional rate of 5 per cent above the prevailing base rate.
“This growing financial exposure underlines the immediate need for additional budgetary allocation,” the minister said, blaming the Ministry of Finance for it.
Published in Amanecer, December 5, 2025.
