Uproar in Punjab Assembly halts proceedings

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Wednesday once again witnessed uproar and protest from the opposition benches during the debate on Asgher Khan’s case following which the PA proceedings came to a halt.

In the third day of its 42nd sitting, the PA session once again could not complete the business as the Opposition pointed out quorum following which it was adjourned till Thursday.

The PA session in its sitting on Wednesday started with a delay of over two hours with Speaker Rana Mohammed Iqbal Khan in the chair. Though the House was to take up the question hours related with Livestock and Dairy Development but, in the light of the decision of the business advisory committee, the Speaker directed a member of the house for presenting motion for suspending rules of business after which debate on Asgher Khan case started. Shaukat Mehmood Basra, Ehasn ul Haq Nolatia, Amir Dogar, Dr Akhter, Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor were main speakers of the PPP on the debate.

Deputy parliamentary leader of PPP Shaukat Mehmood Basra was the first speaker on the debate who came hard on Sharif brothers for introducing negative traits in politics and making it a business. Basra, who belongs to Bahawalngar, a district of Southern Punjab, in his speech stated that, before 1985, there was no precedent of seeking or distributing money for hijacking the public mandate but later on some politicians disgraced politics. He said the decision of the Supreme Court was praiseworthy and he was also aspiring for the long life of Air Marshal (retd) Asgher Khan.

Following the remarks of Shaukat Basra, situation got tense in the House and members from the treasury benches passed comments against the PPP and PML-Q leadership, which further added to the prevailing tension.

Remarks of different legislators against political leadership of the country were expunged on the instructions of the chair, nevertheless, it was not able to control the proceedings.

The members from both sides were chanting slogans, such as ‘Go Zardari Go’, ‘Go Shahbaz Go’, etc. Having failed to maintain order in the House, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings for half an hour.

The Opposition members also gathered on the stairs of the Punjab Assembly where they chanted slogans against Sharif brothers, demanded filing of reference against them in the Election Commission and called for their disqualification.

The proceedings were resumed with a gap of half an hour in which Basra once again stated that it was mandatory on the Chief Minister Punjab to quit office and seek pardon from the nation for the act he had committed.

Speaker Rana Mohammed Iqbal Khan on the occasion stated that Chief Minister like Shahbaz Sharif could not quit office as he had been elected by this House.

Ehsan ul Haq Nolatia, another PPP member from the district of Muzaffagarh, participating in the debate, said that the PPP was not against institutions but it wanted the elements involved in hijacking public mandate. He said Shahbaz Sharif must quit just because he could not affect the investigation process.

The PML-N leadership was supported by Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor, a provincial minister who in his address stated that PML-N president Nawaz Sharif had already clarified that he had trust in the institutions. He said that the PML-N was united under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and the elements involved in the murder of Benazir Bhutto, Rental Power scam, Ephedrine scandal should be investigated first.

Posted in: National