Punjab Assembly: Session prorogued without agenda discussion

House unable to reach agreement on ZA Bhutto case resolution.

LAHORE:

The special session of the Punjab Assembly on Thursday was prorogued without any discussion of the agenda, as the treasury and opposition were unable to agree a resolution concerning the president’s reference to the Supreme Court for a review of the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto murder trial.

The joint opposition of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) submitted the requisition to the Punjab Assembly Secretariat a couple of weeks ago seeking discussions on two issues – the law and order situation and the wheat procurement policy. But neither of these issues were discussed in the short-lived session, which began at 3:30pm and ended at 8:30pm.

Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz later told reporters outside the assembly building that the opposition had requisitioned the secretariat for another special session. He said that the Punjab government had prorogued the session in order to save face.

Earlier during proceedings, Riaz rose on a point of order to move a resolution in support of President Asif Zardari’s reference to the Supreme Court on the ZA Bhutto trial. Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood Khan said he needed to first ask the chair to relax the rules of business since he was about to move a resolution out of turn. He said resolutions were always discussed in the business advisory meeting between parliamentary parties ahead of the session so a consensus could be reached on them.

PPP Deputy Parliamentary Leader Chaudhry Shaukat Mahmood Basra read Rule 234 of the Rules of Procedure, which he said allowed the rules to be suspended if a majority vote allowed a resolution to be presented. Mashhood responded that Rule 234 still left it to the speaker to decide whether to suspend the rules or not.

Mohsin Leghari of the PML-Q said that the government had been allowed to present legislation out of turn at a previous session. Mashhood said that the government had obtained permission from the business advisory committee to do so.

He said that he could not permit the house to present the resolution on the basis of a sense of the house vote as it would set a precedent. He said that the speaker, in order to prevent the agenda of the session being “bulldozed”, had asked parliamentary party leaders to develop a consensus in the business advisory meeting on all business to be presented in the house. He said he would allow the resolution once the parliamentary leaders developed a consensus on it.

The treasury benches pointed out the quorum twice during Thursday’s session, but the opposition had the required numbers in the house on each occasion.

After a meeting of the parliamentary leaders, Law Minister Rana Sanaulalh said that he had warned the PPP that if it moved the resolution, some members of the PML-Nawaz might raise questions that would harm the leaders of both sides. He said that PML-N members might say that the PPP won two elections on the Bhutto name and the third with the blood of Benazir Bhutto, and was now seeking a fourth by dragging ZA Bhutto from his grave to the courts.

He said that the PPP had asked him to restrain PML-N members from speaking on this issue, but he had refused. He said that he would consult his party members at the next parliamentary party meeting.

Other business

Noor Khan Niazi of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal on a point of order complained that the Darbar Hall of Governor’s House was being used for fashion shoots and pulled out a picture to back his claim. Riaz said that the image was manipulated.

PML Parliamentary Leader Chaudhry Zaheeruddin Khan, on call attention notices, sought details of the suicide attack on the shrine of Sakhi Sarwar. Leghari demanded that the Punjab government reward the Border Military Police staff who caught one of the suicide attackers before he set off explosives. Sanaullah pledged that the official concerned would be rewarded.



Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2011.