LAHORE: A bill to amend the Punjab Local Government Act 2013 was introduced in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday.
Several amendments to the law have been proposed by the Election Commission. One of the amendments deals with the Election Commission’s authority to appoint returning officers from amongst the federal government employees. Another calls for making to alteration in the boundaries of a constituency after the announcement of election schedule. Yet another deals with the definition of ‘election’. The bill has been sent to the standing committee with instructions to produce its report in two months.
A bill to amend the Punjab Strategic Coordination Act 2014 was also introduced. The proposed amendments call for inclusion of the home minister in the Provincial Security Council as its vice chairman.
Earlier, at the start of the session, the House welcomed back one of its members, Jamil Hassan Khan, who had been kidnapped six months ago.
Khan was kidnapped near Sargodha while travelling on the motorway. He was recovered by security forces earlier this month from Pak-Afghan border.
Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan announced his return. “Today we have good news to share. Our esteemed member is now amongst us,” he said.
Home Minister Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada walked up to Khan’s seat to greet him.
Dr Syed Waseem Akhtar said it was a matter of great pleasure for the members to have Khan back.
Members on the opposition benches criticised the secretary for law and parliamentary affairs for delay in response to adjournment motions.
They urged the speaker to instruct the secretary to immediately obtain responses from relevant departments once the motions were tabled.
Dr Akhtar said that repeated requests by the treasury benches regarding delays in responding to queries reflected a poor situation. He said that it was important for the government to treat adjournment motions and queries seriously.
Similar reservations were expressed by MPA Khadija Umer. Umer also stressed the veracity of the facts and figures presented by the parliamentary secretaries in the assembly. “Checks should be in place to ensure that the answers provided are accurate,” she said.
The issue of discrimination against south Punjab was raised by Sardar Shahabud Din. “The southern part of the province should be treated fairly. Discrimination has been observed in various aspects of development and governance,” he said.
He was interrupted by the speaker, who asked him to be careful in his choice of words.
Minister for Prisons Abdul Waheed Chaudhry said that the government was focusing on the development of south Punjab. “Any complaint and grievances in this regard will be immediately addressed,” he said.
During the question hour, Agriculture Minister Dr Farrukh Javed responded to the lawmakers’ questions. The assembly proceedings were cut shot due to a polio awareness session for lawmakers.
The discussion on public health, an agenda item, was postponed till ‘another day’.
The session will resume at 9am on Friday.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2014.
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