The opposition presented the cut motion on the budget for police, demanding that it be slashed to one rupee as the department’s performance did not merit the amount allocated for it PHOTO: EXPRESS
The one cut motion presented for discussion by the opposition during Punjab Assembly’s discussion and voting on the demand for grants for the fiscal year 2014-2015 on Friday was lost.
The opposition presented the cut motion on the budget for police, demanding that it be slashed to one rupee as the department’s performance did not merit the amount allocated for it.
The house defeated the motion and passed the grant with majority.
Discussion and voting on demand for grants will continue for another two days.
The Punjab Assembly session began two hours after its scheduled time and was presided over by Speaker Rana Iqbal Khan.
The treasury presented 43 demands for grants and the opposition submitted six cut motions over the allocation for police, health services, education, agriculture, irrigation works and general administration. The motion on the budget for police was discussed on Friday. The speaker said the discussion and voting on demands for grants would continue till 5pm on Monday after which he would invoke the guillotine.
The cut motion on the budget for police was submitted by 47 members of the opposition. They demanded that the Rs81.68 billion budget be slashed to Rs1. They said it was because the police had failed to improve their performance.
Discussion and voting
MPA Siddique Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf commenced the discussion on police by criticising their role in the Model Town operation. He said the brutality and barbarism witnessed in the area on Tuesday were condemnable. “No civilised society could condone the role of the Punjab Police in the incident.” He likened the police to Nazis in Germany and said they were helping the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz establish a fascist province.
He said statistics on the website for the Police Department showed that the crime rate increased each year. Instead of holding the department responsible, the Punjab government had increased the budgetary allocation for the department each year, he said. The 16 per cent increase in the budget for police made no sense, he said, “the police do not deserve such a massive budget”.
He said after the Model Town fiasco, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan should tender their resignations.
He said last year, the department was allocated Rs140 million to arrest most wanted criminals in the province, but not a single one was arrested. He said the police were PML-N’s henchmen in the Punjab and should be revamped on priority.
MPA Malik Taimur of the PTI said treasury benches in the house had become touts for the Punjab Police. He said the PML-N had first abandoned democracy and later blamed the army for it.
MPA Waqas Hassan Moakal of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid said the police had even failed to recover MPA Rana Jameel who had been kidnapped earlier. He said in rural areas the police did not have sufficient equipment or transport. He said corruption was at an all-time high in police stations and the policemen had become assassins for hire.
MPA Khadija Umar of the PML-Q said women were oppressed most by police during the Sharif government. The crime rate jumped 12 per cent each year... yet the government continued to increase budgetary allocation for police each year, she said.
Instead of responding to the criticism by the opposition, Rana Sanaullah skirted the topic and said that the opposition did not speak on cut motion.
He asked speaker to put the question of passing the demand for grants for police to vote.
The speaker has adjourned the session till Monday evening.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2014.
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