LAHORE - Punjab Assembly on Wednesday passed with one voice a resolution against the Indian aggression on the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary and urged the world community to play its role in checking the Indian hostile acts against Pakistan.
The resolution tabled by Law Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rahman, termed the Indian border aggression a blatant violation of the international laws and asked the government of Pakistan to raise the issue at the level of the United Nations. The resolution reminding the killing of five lakh Kashmiris in the Held Valley at the hand of India forces asked the International body to take notice of the matter and act against India.
The House in its 10th session with Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan in chair, also carried another resolution to laud Pakistani young educationalist and Nobel Laureate for peace Malala Yousafzai over winning the award and raising head of the whole Pakistani nation high at the international level.
At the outset of the proceedings, the speaker addressing a point of order from Waqas Hassan Moakkal on the wafer-thin opposition and absence of the leader of the Opposition, ruled that PTI MPA Mian Abdul Rashid was still leader of the Opposition and the PTI MPAs members of the House. He said his office had so far not accepted their resignations rather twice called them in writing to see them but they didn’t. The speaker said he wanted to meet the PTI members in person to ascertain whether they resigned out of free will or under duress. He said so far their resignations had not been accepted, therefore, they were entitled under the rules to attend the assembly session and take part in the proceedings. When Moakkal said the chair should send someone for the PTI members, Rana Iqbal asked him to go and fetch them to the House as his efforts had failed.
On the government business day, a bill on the Punjab Institute of Quran and Seerat Studies was also presented before the House and the same was referred to the committee.
Besides, the House took over question-answer on the transport department in addition to open discussion on a resolution on democracy. The House referred to the Privilege Committee a motion filed by Ch Ghulam Murtaza against the EDO Bahawalnagar. The EDO Bahawalnagar had allegedly used unreasonable and insolent language against the MPA while seeking unauthorized explanation on filing a question in the House over felling of 307 trees in a school in Haroonabad with departmental permission. Uzma Bokhari, Shaikh Salahuddin and Muhammad Ahmad Malik underlined the need of introducing amended Rules of Procedure of Assembly in order to streamline its proceedings and improve efficiency of the House which they added, had been held lowest among all others in the Pildat report.
Minister for Law Mujtaba Shuja said the summary in this regard was before the CM and would be implemented soon after approval. He clarified that performance of the PA was at number two while it was remarkable in terms of legislative business. He said only deficiency lay in the punctuality of the members which had negatively impacted the assembly performance. The speaker asked the members to be punctual so that session could start on time.
Malik Abdul Waheed, Uzma Bokhari, Amjad Ali Javed, Mian Rafiq and others from the Treasury, speaking on the resolution on democracy, said the country since inception had been facing conspiracies against democracy and the elected government when it was taking economy forward and working for the welfare of the masses. They said it was particularly with PML-N government which had innumerable services to the country from building infrastructure to giving it nuclear capability but it got a jolt at the hands of those who abhorred progress and development in Pakistan.
He said this time too the N-government started off with a strong vision to make the country stronger in every respect but a conspiracy was hatched and a party rose up to bring a revolution when the government was just 14 months old. They said this party took shield of the women and children to execute its plan and put Pakistan on risk. They said the elements resorting to protests knew that success of the government towards ridding the country of problems would end their own politics. They said this Tamasha must end now as the country after losing $35billion Chinese investment and other losses could not afford any further blow to its economy.
They asked the PTI to come to the parliament as the esteemed House was the only appropriate forum for this purpose. They said why some forces did not want to have an elected government enjoy the complete tenure of the power. After end of PAT Dharna, they said PTI was continuing its exercise on the strength of the funds from the jewish lobby which aspired to install a government of its own choice. They said the N-government wanted to empower the people and would not discontinue its efforts in this regard.
PML-Q MPA Khadija Umar criticised the government and said over the last six years in Punjab nothing but a Metro bus had been launched. She said PM and the CM in the guise of democracy had set up an autocracy wherein no one other than the Sharif family had any value. She said elections were massively rigged so it was a sham democracy and fake PM in place. This fact, she added, was also accepted by the people who were raising go-Nawaz-go slogans everywhere. She questioned the credibility of democracy wherein over a dozen people were killed in Model Town on June 17 and no FIR was registered. No education, health and basic needs were available under the N-government and they were calling it a democracy, Khadija said adding, the people had gone fed up with the democracy which the N-government cherished. She said it was inner fear of the government which obliged it to bring a resolution on democracy. The House carried the resolution with majority and adjourned the session till 10am on Thursday (today).