Punjab PA descends into political squabble
Photo: File
The Punjab Assembly session on Wednesday witnessed sharp exchanges between treasury and opposition members, as allegations of political victimisation, misuse of police powers and procedural irregularities dominated proceedings.
Opposition Leader in the House, PTI's Moeen Riaz Qureshi, alleged that the son of Nasir Cheema had been arrested from Gujranwala and was being shifted across multiple police stations.
He urged the government to take immediate notice, warning that the opposition would proceed with its protest scheduled for February 8.
He claimed that many opposition MPAs had been nominated in FIRs and questioned what he termed the humiliation of elected representatives through police actions.
"Register FIRs if you want, but do not subject MPs to police humiliation," he said.
Qureshi also criticised the government for allegedly politicising public matters, saying that when the opposition objected to political images on kites, the government responded with a ban. Referring to PTI's founding chairman, he said the leader remained highly popular and "fixed in our hearts."
He further accused the government of ignoring farmers' issues while focusing on arrests. Separately, PML-N lawmaker Samiullah Khan raised concerns over delays in the presentation of constitutional and assembly reports.
He informed the House that the matter was under review by the Privileges Committee and that some progress had been made.
He stressed that reports must be presented in accordance with the Constitution and that no order should be passed without hearing all sides.
He warned that deliberate constitutional violations would invite strict action, while unintentional errors would be handled accordingly.
Deputy Speaker Zaheer Iqbal Channar referred the matter to the relevant committee for a decision after due process.
MPA Saeed Akbar Nawani called for clarity on whether the report should be approved or rejected and suggested seeking legal consultation if procedural flaws were found.
Provincial Law Minister Rana Muhammad Iqbal proposed deferring the report.
Meanwhile, opposition MPA Sheikh Imtiaz criticised remarks attributed to Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman regarding subsidised bread prices and disputed claims about the public display of images of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
He said he could provide photographic evidence and questioned what he described as selective enforcement.
The Deputy Speaker asked him to take his seat, saying the issue would be discussed later. Earlier, the House took up the question hour, during which queries related to the Housing Department, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering were answered by Secretary Housing Sultan Ahmed Bajwa.
A tense moment arose when a verbal exchange took place between Parliamentary Secretary Sultan Ahmed Bajwa and MPA Ahmar Rasheed Bhatti.