The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Punjab hasn’t assigned portfolios to the newly appointed parliamentary secretaries in the Punjab Assembly.
As many as 37 members of Punjab Assembly (MPAs) were made parliamentary secretaries last week by the government but none of them has been given any department which is affecting the working of the assembly as these secretaries play an important role in the working of the House.
Some insiders told this scribe on the condition of anonymity that the government isn’t taking any decision because every PS wants department of his own choice and therefore the ruling party is reluctant to give them departments in order to avoid the resentment within the party. “Since our party is ruling the province with a very thin majority and therefore the party cannot afford to loose even a single MPA in the house and that is the major hindrance in giving us the departments,” said a newly made Parliamentary Secretary who doesn’t want to be named.
No standing committee constituted in Punjab Assembly so far
It is pertinent to mention here that a strong resentment is already prevailing among the women MPAs as the government didn’t include even a one single woman lawmaker in the list of PS as all the 37 PS are male. The PTI’s government also didn’t include its women lawmakers in the Punjab cabinet as there are only two woman MPAs who are part of over 40 members cabinet. These two includes minster for health Dr Yasmin Rashid and minister for women development Ashifa Riaz Fatyana. It is highly likely that woman lawmakers of Punjab will be accommodated in the chairmanships of Standing Committees as around a dozen female lawmakers had a meeting with Chief Minister Usman Buzdar in this regard last week and he will take any decision upon his arrival from Saudi Arabia where he is performing Umrah.
Law minister says process will complete during the next session
Commenting over the situation, senior PML-N MPA Samiullah Khan said that the working of assembly is definitely affected due to the absence of Parliamentary Secretaries because these PS are integral part of the parliamentary form of government being prevailed in our country. “The PS plays the role of a bridge between their departments and the House as they are supposed to apprise the house regarding the performance of their departments,” he said while adding that the PS also take the sense of the House on the issues related to their departments. He further told Daily Times that the PTI-led Punjab government is completely directionless and therefore the issues of PS and standing committees are getting delayed.
It is important to note that a motion was passed in the House on January 25 during the last session regarding the Standing Committees that also plays a vital role in the process of legislation but not a single Standing Committee is constituted so far. The minister for law and parliamentary affairs Raja Basharat said that the process of standing committees will be completed during the next session of the Punjab Assembly with the consensus of the opposition. The CM is out of country and any decision to call the session will be made on his arrival, he added.
Published in Daily Times, February 14th 2019.
