PA session: Malala praised, Indian aggression condemned

Most of the opposition benches remained empty on third day of session.

LAHORE:

The Punjab Assembly lauded Malala Yousufzai, the youngest-ever Nobel laureate, for her efforts and sacrifices through a unanimous resolution on Wednesday.

Calling her the daughter of Pakistan, the resolution congratulated her on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 and expressed pride in her accomplishments and achievements. “Malala’s efforts and sacrifices for fighting for girls’ education are laudable. Her voice in the fight against illiteracy and extremism is a cause of hope and comfort for the children of Pakistan and the world at large,” the resolution stated.



The house also condemned the Indian aggression on the Line of Control (LoC) and the working boundary through a resolution moved by Law Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rahman. It was also passed unanimously.

The resolution accused the Indian government of violating the LoC and blamed it for military and civilian casualties. It also lauded the Pakistani forces for defending the nation. The resolution expressed grief over the loss of life owing to the Indian aggression. It praised the federal government for taking up the matter at international forums and demanded that the international community take notice of the Indian aggression.

The third day witnessed the highest attendance since the beginning of the session on Monday. However, most of the opposition benches remained empty. MPA Sardar Shahabuddin, who had staged a walkout on Tuesday, opted to remain absent from Wednesday’s proceedings, too.

The session once again started late.

This was pointed out by MPA Sardar Vickas Hassan Mokal, who criticised the delays. He urged the speaker to take notice of the situation. Mokal asked the speaker about the status of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) members who had resigned. The speaker said that a final ruling would be given after the opposition lawmakers personally verified the resignations.

Mokal said that the House could not effectively operate without an opposition leader.

MPA Faiza Malik criticised the procedure followed for passing the resolution about granting special passports to lawmakers on Tuesday. She claimed that the deputy speaker had not given her the floor even though she had attempted thrice to express her opposition to the resolution.

Later, she also asked the House to take notice of the 4,000 intermediate students protesting outside the assembly against the Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. “The government has failed to take notice and act,” she said.

The law minister said that the Higher Education Department was dealing with the issue.

MPA Sheikh Alauddin presented two adjournment motions about the illegal occupation of Bhratri Trust’s 4,300 acres of land in Layyah and the growing pollution in Lahore. He said Lahore was ranked as the 10th most polluted city in the world in a World Health Organisation report. Both the motions were kept pending.

Another adjournment motion on the absence of staff at the Allied and DHQ Hospital Faisalabad was also kept pending.

A motion by MPA Chaudhry Ghulam Murtaza against the Bahawalnagar EDO was referred to the privilege committee by the speaker.

A bill to establish Punjab Institute of Quran and Seerat Studies was also introduced during the session. The speaker referred the bill to the standing committee on religious affairs, with the directions to present a report in two months.

Debate on the resolution to defend democracy continued on the third day of the session.

MPA Waheed Malik defended the government and criticised the protests. “These protesters have achieved nothing except destruction. What is the purpose of staging countrywide protests only a year and a half after the elections?” he asked.

MPA Khadija Umar, however, criticised the resolution, saying the government was acting insecure.

During the question hour, 10 questions were put to Parliamentary Secretary on Transport Muhammad Nawaz Chohan about the performance of his department. However, majority of the MPAs remained dissatisfied with the answers.

The session was adjourned till 10am Thursday.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2014.