Govt faces heat from own lawmakers

Opposition members question preparedness of Finance Dept, parliamentary secretary struggls to answer questions

LAHORE:

The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday witnessed an unusual display of dissent from the treasury benches as government lawmakers criticised the administration over prolonged electricity loadshedding, while opposition members questioned the preparedness of the Finance Department and the parliamentary secretary struggled to answer questions concerning his portfolio.

During the question hour,Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Timor Ali Khan said he was unaware whether Bank of Punjab officials had appeared before the PAC. He also admitted that he had only learnt the previous evening that questions relating to his department were on the assembly's agenda.

His response drew criticism from the opposition, with MPA Nargis Faiz asking the Speaker to defer the Finance Department-related questions until the parliamentary secretary was adequately prepared.

The treasury benches themselves also expressed frustration over the quality of questions being raised in the house. Government MPA Ahsan Raza Khan criticised lawmakers for repeatedly submitting almost identical questions, with only the district or city being changed.

"It seems they all have the same writer who writes the same question for everyone," he remarked, urging lawmakers to focus on major issues facing Punjab.

The parliamentary secretary also faced difficulty answering questions concerning leave encashment, pensions and gratuity.

The Speaker deferred the matter and directed the government to provide a detailed response, observing that the issue affected thousands of families.

Timor Ali Khan later clarified that the caretaker government had not abolished the facility of leave encashment and said employees were required to apply for it before retirement.