PA to hold in-camera session on Sahiwal incident

JIT investigation will come up for discussion in the house

LAHORE: For the first time in its history, the Punjab Assembly is going to hold an in-camera session. The topic of discussion will be the gory Sahiwal incident and the activities of the joint investigation team. The speaker also bound the provincial law minister to share information with the house before any other forums.

The treasury seemed adamant to run assembly business according to the agenda items, but the opposition was just as insistent to kick off discussions on the Sahiwal incident. The arguments turned heated when Minister for Prosecution Chaudhary Zaheeruddin said a discussion on the Sahiwal incident would commence after the completion of agenda items.

The opposition slammed the treasury for choosing to take up the matter after agenda items as innocent lives had been lost. Its members challenged the treasury lawmakers to prove that the Sahiwal incident was not a fake encounter by CTD. They said the government’s claims of it being a clean operation had nothing to do with reality.

The opposition, rejecting the JIT’s report, also demanded the formation of a judicial commission to probe the matter in an impartial manner. The lawmakers remained at loggerheads as the opposition wanted to suspend the rules to start a discussion on the issue. On the other hand, the treasury stuck to its stance of first taking up agenda items.

When opposition MPAs noted that their pleas were not accepted, they stood up from their seats and assembled in front of the speaker’s chair to chant slogans.  They tore copies of the agenda and tried to force the chair to suspend the rules. However, PA Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari continued saying that the chair would not be dictated.

As the session intensified, PA Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi took the chair of the house. At this point, PML-N’s Chaudhry Mazhar Iqbal asked why law minister Raja Basharat felt comfortable in sharing information on the Sahiwal incident with the media and not with members of the house.
He said the law minister should first give an in-camera briefing to the house. Elahi then told Raja Basharat to give an in-camera briefing in the house by January 24 (today).

The speaker ordered that Friday’s session provide the opportunity to lawmakers to discuss the matter in detail. He further directed law minister Raja Basharat not to give provide details of the investigation into the Sahiwal until the information was revealed to the house. The law minister assured the house would be updated on present and future actions of the government regarding the Sahiwal incident.

The speaker not only banned the media from the gallery, but also ordered lawmakers not to disclose any information of the in-camera proceedings. He also asked them not to enter the house with their cell phones.

Later on, it was business as usual. The opposition succeeded in putting the Punjab Prevention of Conflict of Interest Bill 2018 into pending. It argued that the bill could be made more viable through discussions with opposition lawmakers. It urged the government not pass bills in haste.

On the other hand, the treasury passed the Namal Institute Mianwali Bill 2019, despite the opposition reaction against the collection of donations on the national and international level. PML-N’s Waris Shad said it was tantamount to creating anther ‘Axact’.

He said it was a commercial institution and could not be run with national or international donations. PML-N’s Chaudhry Mazhar and Khalid Mehmood Dogar asked why the government was in a hurry to pass bills without holding a discussion in the presence of the opposition.

The provincial law minister snubbed the opposition, saying it was astonishing that it had an objection over an educational institution. He asked for the reasons of the objection, even if Namal is providing an education to children on donations. He said the opposition was merely creating obstacles even though it had no real objection over the essence of the bill.

During question answer session, Punjab Senior Minister Aleem Khan said the government was going to start waste-to-energy projects in six districts of Punjab. He added the projects would be completed in the coming year. Opposition lawmakers applauded Aleem Khan’s willingness to answer questions. PML-N’s Malik Nadeem Kamran said such an attitude would pave the way for smooth proceedings. The speaker adjourned the house till 11am on Thursday.