ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Asad Umar stood firm and kept his calm amid rumpus and hooting by the opposition while presenting the Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the National Assembly.
As the minister reached the podium to present the bill in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the opposition members stood up from their seats and started making noise. Some of them threw the copies of the bill in air after tearing them into pieces. They refused to listen to the budgetary proposals being told by minister and continued thumping desks and raising slogans.
Despite all the distraction created by the opposition, the finance minister remained composed and interspersed his speech with remarks aimed at the conduct of opposition. It seemed that he was enjoying the whole situation.
"The opposition members are wasting their time and will hurt their throats by chanting slogans against the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Imran Khan is not going anywhere,” he remarked.
“They are thumping the desks because they cannot bear to see the revival of economy ruined by them during their tenures,” he said with a broad smile.
The Prime Minister was also composed and relaxed amid all the sloganeering of the opposition. He seemed disinterested in the commotion being created by the opposition, remained focus on the speech and and from time to time thumped the desk to express his appreciation for the finance minister.
Some opposition members were seen encouraging their colleagues to raise tempo of their protest.
The finance minister ended his speech with the flourish while accusing the opposition of economic mismanagement during their years in government and buying properties abroad.
APP