Mall Road protest: PML-N avoids PTI motions on arrest of workers

Punjab govt accused of changing presiding officers in PP-150.

LAHORE:

Despite the Punjab Assembly Speaker’s assurance to the opposition that the Mall Road arrests will be discussed in the House, the issue was tactfully eschewed by Law Minister Rana Sanaullah.

Before the Assembly session began on Monday, Speaker Rana Iqbal Khan assured the joint opposition – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) – that the privilege motion taken up by the Special Committee of the House as well as an adjournment motion on the manhandling and arrest of PTI workers will be heard.

However, the opposition’s attempt to highlight the alleged rigging in PP-150 Lahore led to nothing but disorder in the Punjab Assembly.

On Saturday, the police momentarily arrested around 70 PTI protesting workers, including Leader of the Opposition Mian Mehmoodul Rashid and party lawmakers Nosheen Hamid, Dr Murad Ras and Mian Aslam.

PTI aimed at taking up and debating this issue in the Assembly on Monday but Punjab Law and Local Government Minister Rana Sanaullah was successful in not allowing the incident to be widely discussed.



While addressing the House, PTI MPA Nosheen Hamid said that her detention was against the freedom of expression and her privilege as a member of the House has breached. In response, Sanaullah said that the police action was an executive decision, not a political one. “When Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the issue, PTI workers were immediately released,” he told the House. The chief minister has ordered for an inquiry to be conducted. Sanaullah agreed that the issue should be referred to the Special Committee and promised that the government would abide by whatever the committee decides.

PTI Mian Mehmoodul Rashid presented his adjournment motion in the House on how the police tortured him and his party workers and demanded Sanaullah seek pardon from the House and the nation in this regard. The police could not have arrested the leader of the opposition and legislators outside the Assembly without getting direction from government officials, he insisted.

Sanaullah eschewed any discussion on Rashid’s adjournment motion and put the matter in pending until the committee finalized its report on the privilege motion. The opposition will be given a chance to speak on the incident when the report is complete, he said.  Rashid, in response, accused the Punjab government of trying to muzzle PTI’s protest on the alleged rigging.

Meanwhile, PTI’s Mian Aslam Iqbal said that the Punjab education minister, a local MNA, the education EDO changed 41 presiding officers only a day before the polling in the PP-150 constituency.

At this, the Treasury benches stood up from their seats, raised slogans against each other and began a ruckus.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2013.