Punjab bans showy weddings

Law allows one dish; time limit 10pm, bans illuminations, decoration, dowry;violators to face one month jail with up to Rs2m fine

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly on Thursday passed six laws, including the one that regulates marriage functions to ensure the objectives of austerity and simplicity.

The Law titled Punjab Marriage Functions Act 2016 restricts that only one dish should be served in wedding functions and other related ceremonies, which included one dish of meat curry and one dish of rice, along with bread, sweet dish, salad and hot or cold beverages. The law binds that all wedding functions should be concluded before 10pm, bans illumination and decorations on streets, parks and adjoining areas of the house, hotel or wedding hall where the function is being held, bans use of firecracker, explosives or firearms, or display of firearms, bans display of dowry before public, or cause nuisance or disturbance in the neighbourhood.

Violators of these restrictions could be punished with one month sentence along with fine ranging from Rs50,000 to over two million, and the trial should be held by a first class magistrate. The government will constitute one or more committees for the enforcement of the Act with the help of police personnel. Other laws passed by the House with Deputy Speaker Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani in the chair included the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (Amendment) Bill, Punjab Vigilance Committees Bill, The Punjab Flood Plain Regulation, The Punjab Forest (Amendment) Bill and Punjab Economic Research Institute (Amendment) Bill.

The Punjab Commission on Status of Women (Amendment) Bill has been recommended by the House Standing Committee on Gender Mainstreaming and it raises the status of chairperson of Punjab Commission on the Status of Women from BPS-21 to MP-1 scale (Management Position) which was already enjoyed by the Ombudsperson appointed under the Punjab Protection against Harassment of Women at workplace. The law eliminates the disparity in salary packages between the two heads of special institutions working for women empowerment. Besides, it also increases the upper age limit of members of Punjab Commission on the Status of Women from 65 years to 70 years, while the lower age limit has been kept intact at 30 years.

The Punjab Flood Plain Regulation Act provides the regulations for constructing the flood plains for mitigation of flood damages and development of water resources. The Punjab Forest (Amendment) Bill; however, allows the government to use the forests and other lands allocated for forest development to be used for national projects of strategic importance. All the amendments proposed by the opposition members were rejected with majority vote; however, the opposition members withdrew their amendments proposed to the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (Amendment) Bill. The Leader of the Opposition PTI MPA Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed in Punjab Assembly chastised the government for not undertaking proper security arrangements with prior knowledge of threats at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park and ordering an internal inquiry into the negligence of law enforcement agencies.Raising a point of order in the House on Thursday, the Opposition Leader said if the agencies had received threats of an attack at Moon Market and its nearby police station prior to Easter Sunday, it should have secured the Park only a few miles away. The death and injury of hundreds cannot be ignored, he said, adding that a probe must be launched to hold those in public office accountable. In response, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said it was not reasonable to adopt a negative attitude to those sacrificing their lives in the war against terrorism and an internal review was in the works. He said in the future the government would work towards ensuring security of all public places by issuing general instructions to the police to control crowds and protect areas within a 200 meter radius. Mehmood-ur-Rasheed brushed off this explanation and said Punjab police was even unable to attack Chotu Gang holding 16 policemen hostage in Rajanpur.