ISLAMABAD: Deputy Chairman Senate Syedal Khan on Thursday ruled barring members from criticising national heroes and political leadership in the Senate.
After concluding the orders of the day amid loud protests from the opposition benches, he ruled: “You cannot speak against political heroes who suffered martyrdom, went into exile, worked for the nation and the country, conducted nuclear tests and made the nuclear bomb.”
During his ruling, Awami National Party supremo Aimal Wali Khan sought clarification as to who the national heroes were. The Deputy Chairman replied that they included Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, Dr A.Q. Khan and all those who signed the 1973 Constitution. When pressed further, he also named the grandfather of Aimal Wali Khan, Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani and Maulana Mufti Mehmood.
Syedal, who hails from Balochistan and is a ruling PMLN lawmaker, emphasised that he was empowered to impose such a restriction, declaring that the House would now be run strictly under the law and that nobody would be allowed to speak against the institutions, national heroes or leaders of political parties.
He referred to his earlier ruling of February 18 and expressed regret that, despite that, some members from the opposition benches continued to disrupt proceedings and gathered around the podium. “Outside we talk of law and justice, and inside the Senate we go totally against it,” he remarked.
Syedal said maintaining the dignity of the House was a shared responsibility of both sides of the divide and that it was the responsibility of the chair to run the House in accordance with the rules. He stated that the chair has the power to issue a strict order for the sake of decorum of the House, which also includes the power under Rule 246 to suspend a member obstructing proceedings of the House. He warned that he would not refrain from taking extreme steps to ensure smooth proceedings if the same conduct continued. Without naming the PTI, he said he would write a letter to the parliamentary leader of the party seeking instructions for their members to act in accordance with the law and rules. Responding to a PTI lawmaker, he made it clear that this was a last warning and that a handful of elements cannot hold the House hostage, before abruptly adjourning the House to meet again today (Friday morning) — despite having said minutes earlier that he needed a minute to say something important and having assured a member who wished to speak on a point of public importance that he would be given time.
Earlier, during the Question-Hour, Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan conceded in the House that delayed disbursement under the Postal Life Insurance Company Limited (PLICL) was indeed due to the government’s incompetence and negligence. He informed the House that until November 10, 2025, the Insurance Company, since its incorporation in August 2020, had disbursed a total of 44,361 insurance claims amounting to approximately Rs15.1 billion. However, he added, there are still 33,830 outstanding claims amounting to Rs8,165 million.
Aleem Khan also agreed with the questioner, Senator Shahadat Awan, that under the Insurance Ordinance 2000, PLICL is liable to pay liquidated damages for delays beyond 90 days, calculated monthly at a 5pc additional rate over the prevailing base rate. This escalating financial exposure, the minister noted, underscores the immediate need for additional budgetary allocation.
At one point, PTI’s Mashal Yousfzai passed a remark against PPP Senator Talha Mehmood, which was instantly expunged by the deputy chairman, who then switched off her microphone.
