Treasury and opposition benches exchanged harsh words during the session of the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday.
The session was chaired by Speaker Rana Mohammad Iqbal and started after a delay of one and half hour.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Shaukat Basra demanded that the assembly speaker nominate a list of legislators for a commission to carve out southern Punjab as a separate province. Basra also threatened to disrupt the session if his demands remained unmet.
PPP’s opposition members started chanting slogans in the house when Speaker, Rana Muhammad Iqbal, did not allow them to speak over the parliamentary session on new provinces on a point of order.
The opposition legislators gathered in front of Speaker’s dais and protested over the move, but treasury members foiled their attempt to reach the speaker’s chair. “The southern Punjab province will be created,” they chanted during the session.
During the session, Rana Iqbal asked for order in the house but failed to do so amid noisy scenes in the house.
The Punjab assembly’s speaker said that the government and opposition leaders attend the sessions to provide news to the media. Objecting to speaker’s statement, opposition remarked that the issue of new provinces was significant and they will not allow to carry out the proceedings until they were allowed to discuss the matter.
Deadlock is likely to prevail in the provincial assembly session as the Punjab government appears to be in no mood to accept the parliamentary commission on news provinces and acknowledge the opposition’s right to debate on the grounds that the body is formulated only to divide Punjab.
Opposition also claimed that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is suffering from mental disease and he should be got medically examined.
In this regard, the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Tuesday submitted an application to Speaker of the house for constituting a medical board for mental examination of CM Shahbaz Sharif.
Talking to media, Opposition leader Raja Riaz claimed that Shahbaz Sharif was mentally upset and needed a thorough mental examination; therefore a medical board should be formed without any delay.
He said that the opposition would move High Court, if the Speaker does not execute the proposed application. He said if any chaos and killing emerged in this duration, the CM Punjab along with the Speaker would be responsible for that.
The parliamentary leader Zulfiqar Gondal, deputy parliamentary leader Shaukat Basra and others were present on the occasion.
The continuing ruckus prompted the assembly’s speaker to postpone the proceedings until 10 am (August 29).