PHOTO: ONLINE
LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhary Pervez Elahi directed Law Minister Basharat Raja to form a committee to deal with the menace of drugs being used by teenagers at educational institutes.
A Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Rabia Naseem Farooqi highlighted the issue through an adjournment motion and pointed out that the educational institutes have become hubs for drugs as the habit of using drugs is increasing among teenagers with each passing day.
The government has not taken any concrete measures to control the menace of drugs, she said. “This is not an issue of law and order. However, the future of our generations is at stake. Therefore, we need to take it seriously.”
First of all, Speaker Elahi decided to hold the motion owing to the absence of the minister for excise and taxation but PML-N’s Malik Muhammad Ahmed, speaking on a point of order, said this was a serious issue and required an immediate formation of a committee. He said the committee would submit its report to the Punjab Assembly to see if the government has taken initiatives to deal with the issue.
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Seconding the opposition’s stance, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said the government had already made a task force consisting of the excise and taxation department and others to check the menace. On this the speaker said there was a need to work collectively to deal with the issue at a district level. He also suggested that the help of intelligence agencies should be taken and a comprehensive mechanism should be devised to eliminate drugs from educational institutes.
The committee will be headed by the law minister while the health minister, the education minister and the opposition lawmakers will be members of the body.
During the question-answer session, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Syed Usman Mehmood asked Minister for Housing and Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed when the suspended 86 water schemes would be made functional in district Rahim Yar Khan.
He said it was a pity that the people were being deprived of the basic facility of clean drinking water.
Responding to the question, Rasheed said it was among the priorities of the government to ensure clean water supply to the people.
He added that there were 662 schemes which have been suspended in Punjab due to the poor system. “All new schemes will work under the new local bodies system which is being introduced by the government soon.
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After that PPP MPA Shazia Abid questioned the conduct of Speaker Elahi. She said the House is not being run with impartiality. Lawmakers framed questions but the government’s ministers are not fully prepared to answer them upon which the Speaker comes to defend them, she added. Elahi said he always spoke to bring things on the right track rather than defending someone.
On a point of order PML-N lawmaker, Hina Pervez Butt strongly condemned the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement in which he addressed Bilawal Bhutto as ‘Sahiba’. After that PML-N’s Chaudhary Muhammad Iqbal Gujar also wanted to speak on an issue raised by Butt, but Elahi did not allow him to speak.
Later, Raja Basharat laid the audit reports on “private housing schemes under Rawalpindi, HUD and PHE department government of the Punjab for the audit year 2015-16”, “Urban water supply and drainage scheme Dinga city, district Gujrat HUD and PHE department government of the Punjab for the audit year 2015-16”, “Construction of signal-free junction at new Azadi Chowk Lahore HUD and PHE department government of the Punjab for the audit year 2014-15” and “appropriation accounts of government of the Punjab for the year 2015-16.”
After completing the agenda items, the Speaker adjourned the House till Friday (today).
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2019.
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