Speaker NA Bans Anti-Military Speechs on The Floor of The House

ISLAMABAD: The Speaker National Assembly, Ayaz Sadiq has said that statements against Pakistan, the judiciary or the armed forces would not be allowed on the floor of the National Assembly.

The speaker made these remarks while visiting National College of Arts in Lahore on Saturday, “Negative or controversial remarks on the role of the judiciary, the armed forces of Pakistan and judges are unacceptable,” he said. He further stated that any kind of remarks against the armed forces were “intolerable”.

He further stated that only those remarks that fell within the ambit of the law and the Constitution would be allowed.

“Those who speak against Pakistan will not be allowed to express their views on the floor of the National Assembly,” he was quoted as saying.

The speaker said that protests in democratic society should remain within the ambit of law and constitution. Every citizens has the right to protest in a democratic society but the protest should remain within the ambit of law.

“There is no room for arson, damage to life and property or vandalism,” Sadiq was quoted as saying, adding that the “use of sticks and weapons” was a threat to the rule of law.

The Speaker’s assertions came within a month of Deputy chairman of Senate ruling in the senate session that no criticism of national heroes will be allowed in the upper house of the parliament.

“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,” he had remarked just after finishing the day’s agenda amid voices of dissent from the opposition benches. He had later vowed to enforce his ruling.

The ruling and speaker’s assertion are considered a major development parliamentary politics of the country after opposition parties and their social media campaigns specially started criticizing military leaders, armed forces and national heroes.

In Pakistan the social media space is specially filled with anti-military campaigns, which have attracted widespread condemnation from political and media circles.

The political tensions in Pakistan society since 2014 have vitiated the political atmosphere in a major way.
This political tension has emboldened the opposition parties specially Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) to carry out damning social media campaigns against military leaders, whom they blame for their ouster from power.

Similarly many Pro-PTI Vloggers have fled the country and are now carrying out anti-military social media campaigns from Washington and London.

All this have led to the creation of highly chaotic media and social media scene in Pakistani society, where digital media has been specially harsh towards the state machinery and its leaders.

Pakistani state and government think that freedom of expression and protest should remain within the confines of law, constitution, public morality and national interests.

No country and specially no democracy would allow openly anti-state activities within its territory or within its social media space.

The trends in Pakistani conventional media, specially the newspapers and television channels, are not that radical. But digital media launched itself into no holds bar criticism of the state and its institutions. Following which government instituted special law to control the digital media. This forced many pro-PTI journalists and Vloggers to fled the country and start vlogging from Washington and London.