Punjab PA session begins tomorrow

8th session of the current assembly is expected to approve several important laws

LAHORE:

A session of Punjab Assembly has been summoned on Monday.

Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi issued the notification for the session as acting governor in view of a summary of the provincial law and parliamentary affairs department.

The 28th session of the current assembly is likely to continue for a month and the House is expected to approve several important laws.

As many as 21 bills are in various stages of approval from the Punjab Assembly and its standing committees. The Standing Committee on Higher Education has approved the draft bill of the Institute of Science and Technology, Dera Ghazi Khan. Several new bills will also be presented in the House.

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Senior PTI MPA Mian Shafi Mohammad said record legislation had been carried out by the current assembly that had so far passed 63 bills. One of the purposes of convening the session is to fulfill the constitutional obligation to meet for 100 days during the third parliamentary year.

Six months of the current parliamentary year have passed but so far four sessions of the Punjab Assembly have taken place for only 17 days. Thus, the assembly has to meet for another 83 days during the next six months.

The situation has arisen due to protests by the opposition members and the coronavirus pandemic. According to Punjab Assembly spokesman Abdul Qahar Rashid, the staff will perform duties in two shifts from January 25. The step has been taken because of coronavirus.

On the other hand, senior PML-N MPA Samiullah Khan said the opposition would protest against inflation during the session.

According to sources, Speaker Pervaiz Elahi will serve as acting governor till Sunday and will decide about production orders of Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2021.