LAHORE -  The Opposition demand for resignation of Prime Minister after Supreme Court notice to him in Panama Leaks petition created a strong furor in the Punjab Assembly yesterday.

The Opposition demand and the entailing sloganeering against the PM were forcefully repelled by the Treasury which too chanted deafening slogans against PTI Chairman Imran Khan besides picking many holes in his political character. Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan, in full-throat, tried to silence both the sides to let the House proceed with the items on agenda, but he failed and the situation did not return to normalcy.

The Opposition, apparently acting on a forethought plan, staged boycott in protest where after the quorum fell short of the required number to force the chair adjourn the session to next day after the bells were rung for five minutes for the completion of quorum.

As the question hour was over and the House took up other business on agenda, Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Reshid on a point of order with reference to the Supreme Court notice to the premier, presumed that PM Nawaz is going to be disqualified therefore propriety demands that he should step down and appoint another in his stead as Prime Minister.

He believed that the prime minister fighting on multiple fronts wanted to wrap up the whole system which was not affordable to the country. “The propriety demands that the prime minister should sacrifice his office,” the PTI leader added.

At it, the PTI-led opposition began to raise slogan ‘Go Nawaz Go’, and in that spate some slogans were chanted which crossed the limits of decency and had to be expunged from the proceedings on Chair’s direction. The situation sparked the Treasury to come up on all cylinders to counter the rivals so the treasury particularly women, said what came to their mind. A sheer rumpus brought the business to a standstill in the House.

The Speaker then asked the Opposition to trust in the democracy and that the PM will not pack up on the call of anybody.

Objecting to Opposition’s behaviour, he said what they were doing was not good. The Opposition went out of the House to boycott the proceedings in protest and did not return.

Earlier, replying to the questions on Finance and Zakat and Usher, the House was told that a summary has been referred to the chief minister to equate the salaries of paramedical staff working under the local government with those of health department.

Provincial minister Malik Nadeem Kamran, while replying to a question, said that Rs7.8 million grant was issued to the maddarras during the current fiscal year and that funds from the zakat and usher amount is distributed among the hospitals including SKMTH.

Feeling offended by non-provision of answer to two questions of a member, the chair asked the parliamentary secretary concerned to take action against the persons responsible for it.

PML-Q leader Waqas Hassan Moakkal disclosed that the Punjab government has loaned Lahore Transport Company to enable it pay the employees and meet other needs. The agreement for the repayment of the loan, he said, specified that the company will have to do it even by selling out its assets. He questioned why not the funds for salaries of the companies were put in the budget. He further said the government had loaned another 11 companies on the same conditions.

In a counter response, Parliamentary Secretary Rana Babar Hussain said that loans meant to improve efficiency of these companies so that they continue to serve the masses. He said that loan was granted to departments which have less income compared to their expenditure but are necessary to remain in the business of providing service to the people.

The House will resume the further proceedings of the session at 9am today.