PA session: Speaker unhappy with minister, secretary

LAHORE: Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal was displeased on Thursday on discovering that Communication and Works Minister Tanveer Aslam Malik and Parliamentary Secretary Muhammad Naeem Akhtar were not present for the question hour.

Standing Committee Chairman Khurrum Ijaz offered to answer the questions in their stead but the Speaker said he could not do so under the rules of the House.

He demanded to know about the whereabouts of the minister and the parliamentary secretary. Ijaz replied that they were both out of the country. He said the chief minister had approved a summary allowing him to answer questions on their behalf.

“It doesn’t work like that,” Iqbal replied. “Have you informed my office?”

Amjad Ali Javed said some departments used such tactics to hide their incompetence. He said strict action was warranted.

The Speaker then ruled to keep the questions pending for a week and asked the assembly secretariat to write a letter about this to the chief secretary.  He adjourned the session for some time and went to his chamber. He resumed the session 40 minutes later.

Speaking on a point of order, MPA Sardar Shahabuddin said farmers and Health Department employees were protesting in front of the assembly in scorching heat.

“The government is not taking any notice of their issues,” he said.

Members from Opposition benches protested against what they called the government’s indifference towards farmers.

Leader of Opposition Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed said one of the protesting farmers had died in the heat. “The government should be condemned for turning a blind eye to their plight,” he said. “If the government was providing good governance, it would not be afraid of facing the people,” he said.

He demanded that adjournment motion on the farmers’ issue be entertained out of turn.

Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had started the trend of sit-ins. His criticism drew ire from members of the Opposition benches. They chanted slogans against the government. Their sloganeering was met by chants from Treasury benches. Later, members of the Opposition benches staged a walk out.

MPA Faiza Malik pointed out qorum before leaving. The session was adjourned till Friday morning. Earlier, speaking on a point of order, MPA Asif Mahmood had said the government should announce summer vocations in schools earlier than the schedules in the wake of the heat wave. Amjad Ali Javed said Saaf Pani Project should first be started in areas where safe drinking water was not available.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2016.