One for the history books : Punjab Assembly’s turbulence rumbles on

The incumbent CM has tried to secure himself legally but the opposition is still breathing down his neck

LAHORE:

The past year was historic for Punjab in terms of political manoeuvring, as a no-confidence motion followed by the provincial assembly’s fate being decided in the Courts became the norm - much to the dismay of the province’s populace burdened by back-breaking inflation.

As a result of the political tug-of-war between the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), for the first time in the history of the province, Punjab had 3 different Chief Ministers (CM), 2 different provincial assembly Speakers and Deputy Speakers, over the course of a year. Presently, the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid’s (PML-Q) Chaudhary Pervez Elahi, backed by the PTI is holding on to the CM slot with a razor-thin majority, as the PML-N and its allies, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), look to oust him from office to avoid a dissolution of the provincial assembly.

Only time will tell whether CM Elahi will be able to hold office till the term of the Punjab Assembly expires but he is taking every protective measure provided by the law to hold on to the province’s top job.

For instance, the Punjab Assembly’s session of the 5th parliamentary year is still ongoing - a move which is meant to ward off any no-confidence motion.

Legally, 100 days are required to complete a parliamentary year, but this one has been going on for 150 days. Similarly, another protective measure, a meeting of the Assembly called by the current Speaker, Muhammad Sibtain Khan, has been going on for 41 days now - which has become a record. Apart from the political manoeuvring, as far as the provincial lawmakers doing their job is concerned, 27 bills were introduced in the seemingly never-ending parliamentary year, out of which 15 were approved.

Moreover, 11 private bills were introduced in the House and 7 were approved by the provincial assembly. However, public interest resolutions did not have the same rate of success, as 157 resolutions were submitted but only 11 were passed.

Despite the political turbulence, Khan, the Speaker of the provincial assembly, while talking to The Express Tribune, expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the Assembly. “We will try to improve the performance even more this year by implementing a record number of laws,” Khan predicted, adding that he was thankful to his party, the PML-Q, and its allies for playing an active role in passing laws in 2022. PTI’s Mohammad Basharat Raja, who is also the provincial Law Minister, concurring with the Speaker, said that the overall performance of the Punjab Assembly was far better than in the past.

“The PTI government in its 4 year tenure managed to pass 109 bills, which is evidence of the Assembly’s efficiency. Now together with our ally, the PML-Q, we will strengthen laws further,” said Raja.

However, Uzma Bukhari, the PML-N’s Information Secretary Punjab, and Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA), said that all claims of the Assembly’s performance being remarkable were devoid of any truth. “Several government members did not attend the Assembly’s meetings the entire year. Furthermore, the meetings of the Assembly that were called were done so because of the requisition of the opposition,” Bukhari remarked. When asked about CM Elahi’s fate in office, Bukhari told The Express Tribune that she hoped that the PML-N and its allies could oust the incumbent government soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2023.