By Ahmed Shamsur Rehman/ANI
ISLAMABAD — The absence of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal from the National Assembly during Question Hour sparked a debate in the House, with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq ruling that only the concerned minister or the relevant parliamentary secretary could answer questions relating to a ministry.
The discussion began when Ahsan Iqbal was scheduled to respond to important questions concerning his ministry but was absent from the House. When a parliamentary secretary offered to answer on his behalf, the Speaker refused to allow the arrangement.
PPP leader Naveed Qamar expressed concern over ministers failing to fulfil their parliamentary responsibilities. He remarked that ministers also had to attend the Senate, where parliamentary secretaries could not replace them in every situation.
Earlier, Aliya Kamran pointed out that ministers and ministers of state were increasingly remaining absent during Question Hour, while parliamentary secretaries from unrelated ministries were sometimes assigned to answer questions.
Minister Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry argued that a parliamentary secretary could respond on behalf of different ministries. However, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq disagreed, questioning how a parliamentary secretary could adequately answer questions concerning multiple ministries when even mastering the affairs of their own ministry required considerable knowledge.
The Speaker ruled that during Question Hour, only the relevant minister or the parliamentary secretary concerned with that ministry would be allowed to answer questions.
