Due to the opposition’s boycott, the standing committees of Punjab Assembly have been inactive for two years. As a result, legislation has not been processed through the committees.
However, 12 special committees have been set up to deal with legislation and other routine business of the assembly. There are 40 standing committees in the Punjab Assembly, out of which chairpersons of only 18 have been elected so far.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers have resigned from the standing committees on the issue of not appointing Opposition Leader Hamza Shahbaz as chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), but they never insisted on acceptance of the resignations.
However, the chairpersons of standing committees from the PML-N were also allegedly availing government vehicles and other benefits.
The opposition has also proposed amendments to the Rules of Procedure to make the forums effective and empowered in the style of the National Assembly, Senate and other assemblies.
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Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raja Basharat also seem ready to empower the standing committees.
The PA speaker has also constituted a joint committee in this regard. The deadlock between the government and the opposition over the boycott of the standing committees is also likely to end through the expected draft of amendments to the Rules of Procedure in the committee.
No meeting of PAC II has been held in the last six months, while the Privileges Committee has submitted reports in the House on only seven motions in two years, without recommending action against any government official who violated the privileges of a lawmaker.
Many members are now requesting that their motions be sent to a special committee.
At the request of MPA Chaudhry Masood Ahmed from Rahim Yar Khan, his motion has been sent to Special Committee No 7 headed by the law minister. The chairperson of the Privileges Committee, Ali Akhtar also submitted a motion against an SP posted in Faisalabad. However, on the recommendation of the RPO and CCPO Faisalabad, the officier was pardoned.
On the other hand, the PML-N has apparently boycotted the committees but its members also attend the meetings of the Privileges Committee on some issues.
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The opposition leader also attended a meeting of a special committee through a production order. There are differences within the opposition on the issue of boycott of standing committees. PML-N MPA Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has said that the committee system in the PA is inactive.
He added that standing committees in the NA, Senate and the other three provincial assemblies are active. “Only in Punjab the committees have no executive check on the departments. Only one meeting of some standing committees of the Punjab Assembly was held in five years to elect a chairperson.”
The committees do not even have suo motu powers, he further said. “A bill has been stopped on the advice of the prime minister due to concerns of some circles.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2020.
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