Punjab Assembly: Opp demands nominations for provinces commission

Speaker doesn’t allow members to discuss the issue.

LAHORE:

Opposition members in the Punjab Assembly on Thursday urged the speaker to nominate two members for the federal commission on the formation of new provinces in southern Punjab, but their demands were rejected.

Speaking on a point of order, Sardar Ather Khan Gorchani of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) asked Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal to issue a notification stating which two members would represent the Punjab on the commission, which is considering the possibility of the formation of a Seraiki province or a Bahawalpur province.

Gorchani said that the commission was continuing to hold meetings even without representation from the Punjab. He said that the speaker should select two MPAs for the commission. It would be a great injustice to the people of south Punjab to be deprived of their rights due to PML-N’s stubbornness, he said. He accused Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif of diverting development funds meant for south Punjab to Lahore.

The speaker told Gorchani not to say any more on the subject, but the MPA continued to speak. He said that the PML-N’s move to present a resolution in the house in favour of a Bahawalpur province was meant to divert attention from the formation of a south Punjab province. He said that the PPP was willing to form two new provinces in the Punjab.

The speaker then turned down the volume on Gorchani’s microphone, prompting angry outbursts from other opposition members.

They demanded that the speaker allow Gorchani to continue. The speaker refused and asked Gorchani to meet him in his chamber.



Seemal Kamran of the PML-Q also sought to raise the issue, but when she was denied permission, she pointed out the lack of quorum.

The treasury benches could not meet the quorum so the speaker adjourned the session till Friday morning.

Question hour

The assembly session began around 75 minutes later than its scheduled start of 10am. Parliamentary Secretary for Higher Education Rao Kashif answered queries during question hour.

Sajida Mir of the PPP demanded that Queen Mary College be upgraded to a university. Kashif said that if the PML-N were re-elected in the Punjab, it would do so next year.

In another question, Mir said that the water supply at Bilal Gunj Girls Degree College was contaminated. Kashif said that he would look into the matter.

Humaira Awais Shahid of the PML-Q, speaking on a point of order, asked the speaker to take notice that the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education’s online application system was out of order.

She said that students wishing to apply to sit the matriculation exams could not fill out the online form and the deadline was December 24. She asked the speaker to get the date extended.

The speaker said the Education Department should address the issue and agreed that the date for submission of the online form should be extended.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2012.