PA suspends MS who recorded law minister’s phone call

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Khan Mazari Tuesday ordered suspension of Medical Superintendent of Rawalpindi General Hospital who had recorded his conversation with Law minister Raja Basharat who had called him regarding facilitating the daughter of the leader of the rival political party.

The issue was raised on a point of order by treasury member soon after the Question Hour, on which Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Khan Mazari directed Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid to immediately issue suspension orders of the MS concerned of Benazir Bhutto General Hospital, Rawalpindi.

Earlier during the Question Hour, Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi expressed anger over the casual attitude of Food Minister Samiullah Chaudhry who did not satisfy the questioners about the existence of any policy formulated by the provincial government to check the illegal steps taken by sugar millers and to force them to abide by government policies and orders. The speaker asked the minister if government had any policy in this regard, to which the minister said there was a draft policy in his ministry but he could not produce the draft before the House. The speaker asked why the minister was trying to give unsatisfactory replies to the questioner on his own when the policy was not formally approved. He directed the food minister to present the draft policy before the cabinet meeting for formal approval and then present it before the House.

The House passed a unanimous resolution tabled by Seemabia Tahir praising Pakistan army for shooting down a spy drone of India which crossed into Pakistani territory from Line of Control at Bagh sector. The House took up different public interest resolutions on the private members day, but only one resolution was passed pertaining to army’s shooting down India spy drone while the rest were rejected.

The resolution expressed satisfaction over Pakistan army’s capacities and preparedness to defend the homeland displayed by the successful guarding of borders against enemy spy drone, and expressed hopes that army would use its capacities in future to defend the country. The resolution paid glowing tributes to Pak Army for making country’s defence unconquerable and prayed that Army would continue to have more successes against enemies in future.

The other resolutions that could not be passed included the one by Manazir Hussain Ranjha asking the federal government to withdraw the decision to charge Rs20 billion loans which Nepra procured from different banks from monthly bills of the electricity consumers, another resolution by Ali Akhtar calling for abolishing toll tax imposed by previous government on different roads connecting Faisalabad to different cities constructed by Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi government and were kept toll-free, one pertained to banning beggary in those cities where government had established Shelter homes for old and homeless people, tabled by Ms Musarrat Jamshed. Other rejected resolutions included the one by Ms Shawana Bashir demanding Allama Iqbal’s poetry as compulsory part of school, colleges syllabi, one by Momina Waheed calling for changing the name of Benazir Income Support Programme to Pakistan Income Support Programme, one by Neelam Hayat calling for regulating the high consultation fee charged by doctors in private clinics and hospitals, and making the doctors bound to treat and examine patients in the government hospitals only, one by Ms Khadija Omar calling for fixing the maximum number of students in a class in government schools at 40 in order to make both teachers and students produce better results in the schools.