LAHORE:
The Punjab Assembly on Monday witnessed heated exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition benches over the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s recent visit, with proceedings repeatedly disrupted by procedural disputes and harsh political rhetoric.
Tensions flared early in the session when members from both sides sought to raise points of order before question time. However, the Speakers’ Panel strongly rejected these requests, ruling that points of order could only be considered after Question Time had ended.
Despite repeated protests, the president upheld the decision, ordering members to respect the rules of procedure.
At the request of the department concerned, all matters relating to the Department of Town Planning and Development were postponed and the House proceeded with matters relating to other departments.
The panel of chairmen, Samiullah Khan, also expressed strong displeasure over the absence of the Secretary and Special Secretary of the Department of Human Rights and Minority Affairs.
Describing their absence as “highly irresponsible”, he asked the secretary to ensure his presence at the next session.
He further ordered that the department’s matters be placed back on Tuesday’s agenda, categorically rejecting the presence of the section officers as unacceptable.
During the proceedings, Treasury Member Ahsan Raza drew the attention of the House to what he described as a serious education crisis in Kasur district.
He said nearly 1.6 million children were currently out of school and called for the immediate recruitment of teachers. He also urged the government to reverse the decision to merge key education-related departments, warning that such moves made the situation worse.
From the opposition benches, Shoaib Ameer criticized the alleged treatment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister and his delegation during their stay in Lahore.
He called the situation “embarrassing” and accused the Assembly administration of bias, emphasizing that the president’s office was constitutionally required to act neutrally. He further alleged that guests from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were being subjected to unnecessary restrictions.
In response to these allegations, provincial minister Sohaib Ahmad Bharth categorically rejected the allegations of mistreatment.
He said the KP chief minister and his delegation were provided with full security and protocol, with arrangements made well in advance.
He added that traffic police, Punjab police and elite force personnel had been deployed and challenged the opposition members to back up the allegations of mass arrests with FIRs and concrete evidence.
After the government failed to achieve a quorum, the Speakers’ Panel adjourned the session until 11 a.m. on December 30.
