LAHORE - The Punjab Assembly yesterday passed three bills with majority vote, rejecting all cut motions moved by the Opposition legislators.
The House passed three bills - Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2016, Punjab Local Government (Sixth Amendment) Bill 2016 and Forman Christian College Lahore (Amendment) Bill 2016. Two other Bills - Punjab Land Records Authority Ordinance 2016 and Punjab Urban Immovable Property Tax Ordinance (Amendment) Bill 2016 were laid before the House for consideration.
Earlier, the session started with an hour and 15 minutes beyond the scheduled time with Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal in the chair. Though the routine of starting of proceedings late continued, the treasury finally succeeded in maintaining quorum after suffering embarrassment for four consecutive days. The previous four sessions were adjourned after brief proceedings due to lack of quorum. During Question Hour on Schools Education, the Opposition staged a walkout against the practice of teaching Islamiat by Qadiyanis at government schools. The Opposition returned after parliamentary secretary on Education Joyce Rufin Julius assured them of issuing a notification barring the non-Muslims from teaching Islamiat at schools.
JI legislator Dr Waseem Akhtar said that Qadiyanis (Non-Muslims) were designated to teach Islamiat and Arabic to school children which was highly condemnable practice. He termed the practice as not only a blasphemy against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) but also a violation of the constitution of Pakistan which declared Qadiyanis as non-Muslims.
The legislator added the government was appointing such people as Islamiat teachers who did not believe in the finality of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). “How the apostates could teach Islam and the glory of the Holy Prophet (PBUH),” questioned Treasury member Maulana Ilyas Chinioti, seconding the viewpoint of his colleague in the Opposition.
He maintained that Qadiyanis have nothing to do with Islam and they could not teach Islamiyat to Muslims at schools.
