The Punjab Assembly, on Wednesday, passed a resolution unanimously hailing the armed forces for a timely and precise response against the Indian aircrafts that had violated Pakistan’s airspace, earlier on the day.
The resolution was jointly moved by Housing Minister, Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed, former speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Rana Iqbal, and Law Minister, Raja Basharat. As read by the law minister, the house resolved to pay rich tribute to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force. It read, “Pakistan also supported the peace but the political and military leadership of India involved in the war hysteria prompted our forces to take such action in self-defence.”
Legislators demanded the international community through the federal government to take action against the Indian government for keeping the world peace at stake merely to win the next elections, the resolution concluded.
The session of Punjab Assembly passed five bills with Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the chair. The government managed to pass ‘The Punjab Skills Development Authority Bill’, ‘The Punjab Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Amendment) Bill’, ‘The Punjab Board of Technical Education (Amendment) Bill’ and ‘The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Secretariat Employees Bill’.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Waris Kallu opposed the Punjab Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority Bill, demanding to refer the said bill to the concerned standing committee instead of passing it in the haste. He criticized the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for doing exactly what it previously slammed the PML-N government for–establishing the authorities. PML-N’s Azma Bokhari and Khalil Tahir Sandhu also opposed the bill and put forward the same demand in this regard
Law Minister, however, rejected the uproar by the opposition and still insisted on passing the said bills with a simple majority.
MPA Azma asked the government to strengthen the standing committees, which were claimed to be powerless. She further added that the government should make ministers and lawmakers as head of different authorities instead of relying on the bureaucracy.
MPA Basharat agreed with her on the point that standing committees were not powerful in the past yet he argued that they would now be strengthened under the supervision of Speaker Pervaiz Elahi. Provincial ministers Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed and Aslam Iqbal also rose on the occasion to recount how suggestions of the opposition members were previously thrown in the dustbin when the PML-N was ruling and PTI sat on the opposition benches.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Assembly unanimously passed an amendment in the production orders of the arrested MPAs. According to the new amendment, any arrested MPA, who was a member of any committee of the House, could attend the meetings of the committee on the production orders issued by the Speaker. The Speaker adjourned the House till Thursday morning on the completion of the agenda.
Published in Daily Times, February 28th 2019.
