PA pays tribute to victims of jet crash, virus

Bans sacrilegious books about companions of Prophet (PBUH)

LAHORE: The treasury and opposition lawmakers have unanimously decided to ban all books containing derogatory content about the companions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) during the 22nd session of the Punjab Assembly (PA).

The assembly session was organised at a local hotel in Lahore to facilitate adherence to safety protocols as the PA hall was not designed to accommodate all members while they maintained social distance.

PA Speaker Chaudhary Parvaiz Elahi while chairing the session of the lower house directed the authorities to ban all books propagating hate about the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him). “It is alarming that how these books hit the racks and are readily available in the markets across a country that was made in the name of Islam,” he remarked.

The banned books include ‘The First Muslim’, ‘After the Prophet’ and ‘Short History of Islam’. Moreover, the house also passed a unanimous resolution to pay tribute to those who lost their lives to Covid-19 including PA members. Members also prayed for the departed souls of the aircraft tragedy.

The services of frontline soldiers in the fight against the pandemic particularly police officials and doctors were lauded in a resolution moved by Law Minister Raja Basharat. It is worth mentioning that the routine business of Punjab Assembly was not conducted on Friday.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2020.