Punjab Assembly: Opposition protests over development funds

Session adjourned after bickering over contents of dua.

LAHORE:

Monday’s proceedings in the Punjab Assembly (PA) followed the pattern of the first two days of the current session, being adjourned after around an hour of bickering without any movement on the business of the day.

The sitting began at 4.10pm, 70 minutes behind schedule. Speaker Rana Iqbal Khan was about to announce the start of question hour on the Labour and Human Resources Department when opposition members stood to complain that development funds of Rs8 million for each MPA’s constituency had not been released.

Maj (r) Zulfiqar Gondal, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parliamentary leader in the assembly, said that the Punjab government had failed to meet its commitment, made to the speaker during the last session, to release Annual Development Programme funds. The speaker, he said, was negotiating with the government on the opposition’s behalf.

Gondal said the opposition had decided to disrupt the treasury business in the house as much as possible to press their demand for the release of funds. Opposition members shouted slogans praising the speaker and asking that he press the government to explain its position.

The speaker suspended the proceeding for 10 minutes during which time Gondal and Shaukat Basra, also of the PPP, held talks with government functionaries in his chambers.

While the speaker was away, the opposition members chanted “Khadim-i-Aala, Qatil-i-Aala,” and “Choochay Chor Dawai Chor Mian Brothers” in the house.

When the session resumed, Gondal announced that the speaker had promised that the funds would be released by the business advisory meeting before the start of Tuesday’s proceedings.

The speaker then sought to tackle the business of the day, but opposition members first demanded a prayer in memory of dozens of people suspected to have died because of contaminated medicine handed out for free at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. Leading the prayer, Gondal asked Allah to give room in heaven to “patients who died because of the bad governance of the Punjab government”. The treasury benches downed their hands and started thumping their desks in protest.

PML-N women MPAs started their own prayer in retaliation: “Ya Allah, please eliminate the corrupt rulers to remove the gas and electricity crisis from the country.”

Sine opposition members then tried to speak on a point of order but were not allowed to. They walked out of the house in protest. Shaharyar Ali Khan of the PPP then pointed out the quorum, which fell short. For the third day in a row, the 33rd session of the Punjab Assembly was adjourned because of a lack of quorum.

‘Mansoor Ijaz would be safe in Lahore’ 

Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, speaking to reporters at the assembly courtyard, said that the Punjab government would provide Mansoor Ijaz with comprehensive security if the Memogate commission were to meet in Lahore to record his testimony. He said that the “accused party” in the case was trying to stop Ijaz from entering Pakistan.

He said that even if Ijaz did not testify, he believed the commission would have sufficient evidence to draw conclusions. He said that Ijaz’s counsel Akram Sheikh should make statements according to instructions which he received from his client and not overstep.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2012.