Khanzada assured the House that the law and order situation would further improve by the end of this year. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Auqaf Minister Atta Muhammad Maneka told the Provincial Assembly on Monday the government was committed to retrieving all lands managed by the department that had been occupied illegally.
Lawmakers attending the assembly session deliberated on how to continue proceedings of various committees, including the Public Accounts Committee, after the resignation of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf members.
Ehsan Riaz Fatyana pointed out the lack of quorum nearly half an hour after the session started under Deputy Speaker Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani. Nearly 40 people were present when Fatyana pointed out the quorum.
Maneka said the government was working on a policy to regain administrative control of the occupied Auqaf land.
Human Rights and Minorities Minister Khalil Tahir Sindhu said certain information in international reports on human rights condition in Pakistan was exaggerated and misleading.
Responding to a query by Azma Bokhari regarding legislation for child marriages, he said it would likely be introduced at the next session. He informed the House that five per cent quota had been reserved for non-Muslims for government jobs.
Sindhu said the chief minister had called for removing hate content from curricula. He said that like Hafiz-i-Quran students, the chief minister had favoured awarding 20 additional marks to non-Muslim students.
Home Minister Shuja Khanzada attended the session in line with the speaker’s instruction to respond to call-attention notices. He said the crime rate had dropped in the province due to an effective implementation of the National Action Plan against terrorism.
Khanzada assured the House that the law and order situation would further improve by the end of this year.
Tahir Ahmad Sindhu and Mian Rafique took up the issue of non-payment to sugarcane growers in Sargodha.
Waseem Akhtar expressed reservations regarding police action against mosques misusing loud speakers. Law Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rahman said the government sent notices to a mosque before taking action against it.
Raheela Khadim spoke about the so-called faith-healers. She demanded that the Home Ministry take action against them.
Nine audit reports and financial statements introduced on Monday were handed over to the Public Accounts Committee. Akhtar questioned the fate of the reports in the absence of Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, a PTI member who also headed the committee.
Minister for Labour Raja Ashfaq Sarwar sought the Law Department’s advice to look into the matter in the absence of leader of the opposition. The law minister said that a legal solution to the issue would be presented in the House within a week.
The session was adjourned until Thursday afternoon.
Campaigning
Nadeem Afzal Chan, a Pakistan Peoples Party candidate for the upcoming Senate elections, arrived at the opposition chambers to pursue campaign. He reportedly met with three independent lawmakers.
Addressing a press conference at the assembly, he said that he was not only reaching out to opposition members but also those from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. He said he was willing to meet the chief minister provided he spared some time for him.
Chan refused to identify the three independent lawmakers.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 17th, 2015.
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