PA resolution: Opposition proposes, treasury disposes

Decision withheld on resolution seeking honour for JI men hanged in Bangladesh .

LAHORE:

A resolution calling for per litre price of petrol to be lowered to Rs40 was defeated in the Provincial Assembly on Tuesday. The amended version that was later adopted commended the government for providing relief to the people by reducing the price by Rs5 per litre.

The original resolution had been submitted by Leader of the Opposition Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed.

It was taken up out of turn on Rasheed’s insistence that the matter needed urgent debate because it concerned public interest. Dismissing the claim, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that it appeared to be a matter of “dharna interest” only.



Rasheed was outraged on hearing the amended version presented in the House. He said that in its amended form the resolution was not worthy of being considered in the House. Jamaat-i-Islami lawmaker Syed Waseem Akhtar also joined him in opposing the amended version.

Defending the amended draft, Sanaullah said it appeared that the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf was not clear on its demand from the government. He said the price sought by Rasheed was not the same as that asked for by the PTI chief.

Six other resolutions were passed on Tuesday. These included resolutions seeking improved security measures at education institutes and effective implementation of government’s decision to push private schools to revise their fee structure.

Other resolutions passed by the House sought amendments in relevant laws to discourage registration of inaccurate FIRs; official observance of December 16 as a National Day for Children; removal of illegal sign boards and provision of angiography facilities at all District Headquarters (DHQ) hospitals.

A resolution seeking Nishan-i-Pakistan awards for Mullah Abdul Qadir and Qamarul Zaman, executed last year in Bangladesh for their role in 1971 insurgency, led to a heated debate in the House. The law minister condemned the hangings but said that a decision on the resolution should be withheld till information was available about the federal government’s position on the matter. Rasheed, Akhtar and Sheikh Alauddin, who had moved the resolution, were unanimous in protest. “Are we scared of [Bangladesh prime minister] Haseena Wajid and India? Why can’t we honour our heroes?” Rasheed said.

When Akhtar’s resolution seeking exemption for mosques from payment of a television (TV) fee was opposed by the law minister, he demanded that mosques be exempted from the requirement to pay for the electricity used at their premises. The resolution was turned down by the House.

Decision on lawmaker Hina Pervaiz Butt’s resolution was postponed and women lawmakers asked to first discuss it among themselves.

The resolution had sought that only women photographers should be hired at the offices of the National Database Regulatory Authority (NADRA) and the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) to take photos of women applicants for computerised national identity cards (CNICs) and passports.

Azma Bukhari was the most vocal in opposition to the resolution. She said the resolution did not come across as progressive. “Such a resolution will be an insult to the women,” she said.

During the question hour, Parliamentary Secretary for Revenue Nazia Raheel was given a tough time by Nosheen Hamid and Nabeela Hakim who said her responses were inaccurate.

Later, Sanaullah informed the House that 85 per cent of land records in the province had been computerised. He said the database of land records would be launched within a month. The session lasted for around two hours before it was adjourned till Wednesday. It featured two walkouts by the opposition.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th,  2016.