Speaker refers questions to committees concerned

PTI legislator's question related to illegal occupation of TMA property was not answered

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan referred two questions to the committees concerned after the opposition expressed its concern over unsatisfactory answers related to cases of land grabbing by Parliamentary Secretary Ramazan Siddique Bhatti on Monday.

The questions were referred to the committees concerned when Bhatti failed to give unsatisfactory answers related to illegal occupation of the total 26 kanals of  land. Bhatti told the House that not a single government official would be ready to take responsibility if land grabbing took place in his tenure.



Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) legislator Muhammad Arif Abbasi asked a question related to the illegal occupation of Town Municipal Administration (TMA) property and demanded the House be informed who had occupied the property. He also said the House should also be informed where TMA was when the land was occupied.

Bhatti said that there was no specific timeframe when the land was occupied. Around three or four cases were pending in civil courts related to such matters.

Abbasi again asked when 7-kanal and 5-marla land of Fazalabad was illegally occupied and who had occupied it. He said that the House be informed when the department came to know about the illegal occupation of the land. He assured the house he would get the land vacated from the land grabbers of Fazalabad.

Abbasi said TMA’s property was illegally occupied while the government was not in a position to inform the House when and by whom the land had been grabbed. He claimed that the TMA’s land could not be occupied without the connivance of its officials.

He informed the House that no action was taken against the culprits against the occupation of land. The secretary assured the House that the land would be vacated if they were provided evidence.



A strict action would be taken against the culprits, he assured. But, upon hearing Bhatti’s  unsatisfactory answers, the Speaker referred the questions to the committees concerned to deal with the issue.

Replying to another PTI legislator Mian Muhammad Aslam Iqbal’s question, Bhatti said that there is no project where Babu Sabu Graveyard is planned over 32 kanals of land.

Bhatti replied there is no project called Shehr-e-Khamoshan planned on 32 kanals of land. A graveyard was being constructed near Sagian Bridge (Moza Gunjkalan) instead, he said, adding that the government was establishing a graveyard near Walton Road.

When Iqbal again asked who had occupied the land, Bhatti said that he himself was conducting an inquiry because he did not get any response from the department. Iqbal said: “I am not asking whether a graveyard is being established there or not. All I am asking is who had occupied the land?”

Furthermore, the House also passed a resolution unanimously, out of turn, to condemn attacks on journalists. It was demanded to arrest the unknown attackers who are attacking journalists. It also strongly condemned recent attack on senior journalist Ahmed Noorani.

The House proceedings started at 3.45pm although it was scheduled for 2pm.

An independent candidate Ehsan Riaz Fatyana pointed out the quorum when House proceedings just reached the discussion on Annual Report of the Punjab Pension Fund for the years 2015-16. However, the government again failed to produce required number of the legislators. As a result, the Speaker prorogued the session for an indefinite period.

The government has failed to produce required number of legislators in the House six times out of 11 sessions.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2017.