Voicing discontent: Opp up in arms over denial to present resolution

Prisons minister informs house that six new prisons will be completed this year.

LAHORE:

The last 20 minutes of the Punjab Assembly proceedings on Tuesday were dominated by a vociferous protest by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers who were upset because they were not allowed to present a resolution.

The party wanted the acting speaker, Sardar Sher Ali Khan Gorchani, to suspend the rules so that they could present a resolution demanding the immediate revamp of the Election Commission of Pakistan, holding of all future elections through a biometric system and voting rights for expatriate Pakistanis.

The PTI, backed by opposition parties Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and independent lawmakers, asked Gorchani to allow the text of the resolution to be read.

Gorchani did not allow this. The opposition then began to protest and chanted slogans and accused the acting speaker of discrimination.

They vowed to continue their protest until their resolution was presented and adopted. The lawmakers also protested outside the house.

Leader of the Opposition Mian Mehmoodur Rashid told journalists that the treasury benches and the assembly secretariat were biased, and had been quashing their motions and resolutions. “Enough is enough. Now a united opposition has decided to stage a series of severe protests inside the house from Wednesday (today).”

He said the speaker had disposed of two of their resolutions, while one was pending, one had been rejected and one was accepted. He said the government had sanctioned development funds only for those constituencies where PML-N had won in the May 2013 election.

Question hour

The assembly session on Tuesday began with a two-hour delay. Provincial minister Chaudhry Abdul Waheed responded to questions about the Prison Department. Parliamentary Secretary Rana Muhammad Arshad replied to questions about the Information and Culture Department.

The Prison Department had not submitted a reply to six questions asked by lawmakers six months ago. The speaker asked the minister to take action against the officer concerned and submit a report.

Waheed informed the house in his response that the government was going to construct 12 prisons in the province. He said six would be functional this year. The minister said that prisoners from overcrowded jails would be gradually shifted to the new jails. In response to a question, Waheed said the department had completed the construction of family rooms in jails in Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore. He said both male and female prisoners would be allowed to meet their family thrice a year in family rooms. He said the Health Department had carried out vaccination and treatment of hepatitis and TB in prisons. The speaker adjourned the session until Wednesday morning.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2014.