ISLAMABAD: The opposition on Thursday through a strong protest and boycott of the proceedings prevented the government from laying a controversial ordinance aimed at allowing Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to have consular access in line with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict before the National Assembly af ter the two sides accused each other of succumbing tointernational pressure and trying to take a lead in appeasing India.

The opposition questioned the government`s move to `facilitate` a `declared terrorist`, who wascaughtfromBalochistan in 2016 and then convicted by a military court in April 2017 after his confession, and equated the new ordinance with the `NRO` (National Reconciliation Ordinance) issued by former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf as part of a deal with the Pakistan Peoples Party in 2007 to end cases against politicians.

The term `NRO` is regularly being used both by the government and the opposition in place of words like `understanding` or `concession`.

The ICJ Review and Reconsideration Ordinance 2020, which had been prom-ulgated by the government on May 20 and which came to be publicly known on July 8 when Islamabad invited New Delhi to file a review and reconsideration petition after Jadhav`s refusal to do so, was on top of the legislative agenda of the assembly which met after a day`s recess.

The opposition members walked out of the assembly hall after PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari pointed out quorum at the end of his hard-hitting speech at a time when Communications Minister Murad Saeed was preparing togetthenoortorespond.

`The opposition`s conscience does not allow [us] to let the session continue with the ordinance on its agenda,` the PPP chairman said before pointing out quorum and leading the walkout.

While going out, the opposition members kept on raising slogans, including `Modi Ka Jo Yar Hai Ghaddar Hai` (whoever is a friend of Modi is a traitor).

The house witnessed rumpus when the treasury members responded to the slogans, shouting `Bhag Gaye, Bhag Gaye` (ran away), and started thumping the desks.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (P T I) MNA Amjid Ali Khan, who was presiding over the sitting in the absence of both the speaker and the deputy speaker, had no option but to suspend the proceedings due to lack of quorum, for which the presence of one-fourth members (86 in the 342-member house) is required.

The chairman ignored the protest by Mr Saeed and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan, who said under the rules the person who had pointed out quorum must be present in the house at the time of counting.

The government failed to complete the quorum and after almost an hour-long break, Speaker Asad Qaiser finally adjourned the session till Friday (today).

It happened for the second consecutive day that the opposition prevented the communications minister from delivering a speech by pointing out quorum as he had also faced a similar situation on Tuesday when the opposition members walked out and pointed out quorum when he was given the floor to respond to the opposition`s speeches. The minister, however, later on Thursday responded to the opposition`s speeches at a news conference at the Press Information Department.

Before the PPP chairman took the floor, the house had already witnessed a verbal clash and a heated debate between parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Khawaja Asif and Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari, when the latter said the decision of the previous PML-N government to accept the ICJ jurisdiction was `a mistake`.

Mr Asif, in his speech, asked why the government was `facilitating a terrorist` who had confessed to his role in promoting unrest and terrorism in Pakistan.

He said when they (PML-N) were in the government, Jadhav was a slur used against them by the opposition and it was said that Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N were appeasing India. `Who is appeasing India today?` he asked.

Saying the ordinance was `against national prestige and honour,` the PML-N leader termed it `unacceptable and intolerable` Referring to the recent decision of opening up of Wagah border for trade between Afghanistan and India, he asl(ed as to `what concessions India has given `Why the government has become a facilitator of a terrorist? Who is the friend of Modi today? Why is he stooping so low in front of India?` Mr Asif kept on throwing questions towards the treasury benches.

In response to Mr Asif`s speech, Dr Mazari, amid ruckus by the opposition who wanted the floor for Mr Bhutto-Zardari, said the country `should never have gone to the ICJ in the first place` and recalled that both the PTI and PPP had opposed the PML-N government`s decision to do so.`If one country does not accept the ICJ`s jurisdiction, the case is not heard,` she said. `Now that you have accepteditsjurisdiction andithas passed averdict, we will have to implement it. We are now stuck with the ICJ decision.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari then lashed out at the government for promulgating the ordinance in May without telling anyone and not bringing it before the National Assembly or the Senate though the two houses remained in session throughout June. He alleged that the government had finally brought the ordinance before the house only after he had spoken about it in his recent news conferences and the opposition also took it up the issue in the Senate.

Responding to Ms Mazari`s speech, the PPP chairman said accepting the ICJ`s jurisdiction did not mean that `you grant an NRO [to Jadhav] through Pakistan`s laws.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said first an Indian pilot Abhinandan, who had attacked Pakistan and was caught by the security forces, was offered tea and sent back quickly and now Jadhav, who had admitted to spying and committing terror offences in Pakistan, was being granted `an NRO by Imran Khan.

The PPP chief alleged that the government had `already granted an NRO to biggest Tehreek-iTaliban Pakistan terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan, who had admitted his role in the Army Public School (APS) massacre that took place in 2014. He said whenever he spoke against Imran Khan, he received threats from Ehsan. He said during the PPP tenure, Imran Khan `always supported the terrorists and still he is in collusion with the terrorists` Asking the government to tell as to from whose custody Ehsan had escaped and what efforts were being made to recapture him, he said: `Imran Khan will have to answer the parents of the APS martyred children.

Besides this, he said, the prime minister had also given NROs to Jahangir Tareen and those involved in wheat, sugar and petrol scams and Peshawar BRT, Malam Jabba and billion tree project scandals.

He called for disbanding National Accountability Bureau after the Supreme Court had said that this institution was a tool of political engineering and `imposing pygmies` on the people of Pakistan as rulers. He demanded a new institution to conduct across-the-board accountability, including that of judges and generals.

Later, addressing a press conference, Murad Saeed said it was ironic that the PPP chairman, `whose entire family is facing cases of corruption and money laundering`, was accusing others of corruption.

The minister said if some legislation was being made in line with ICJ rules, there was no need to make it controversial.