Suspension of party MPAs

PML-N continues boycott of Punjab Assembly proceedings

By Moayyed Jafri

LAHORE: While Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) Monday continued boycott of the Punjab Assembly proceedings, opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz severely criticised the ‘undesirable’ behaviour of Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the house.

Addressing the media outside the Punjab Assembly, Hamza said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) did not need a separate spokesperson as the PA speaker had already assumed that role.

He said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had promised 10 million jobs, but it had even snatched the means of livelihood from people.

The deadlock between the government and the opposition benches continued on Monday with the PML-N refusing to be part of the assembly proceedings till withdrawal of speaker’s orders suspending membership of six PML-N MPAs over alleged vandalism in the house. Meanwhile, the media also continued boycott of the assembly proceedings in protests against the speaker’s orders, prohibiting the media from entering the assembly premises.

Hamza said Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, in his interview, had so confidently narrated the proceedings of NAB interrogation of Shahbaz Sharif as if he was himself part of it. He said that such in-depth knowledge of supposedly private investigation surely raised a lot of questions. He said no matter whatever Pervaiz Elahi did, people of Pakistan would never forgive him for looting the Punjab Bank.

Hamza demanded a committee comprising equal number of treasury and opposition members to investigate the events of the budget speech day and to punish those who would be found guilty of misconduct in the house. He stressed that the blatant partisanship of the speaker would not be accepted or tolerated.

He said the government should not be ruthless and complacent in their actions as sooner or later the opposition would all unite on the agenda of saving Pakistan from incompetence and cruelty of the PTI government.

Hamza maintained that the Punjab Assembly secretary’s nephew had submitted a resolution against him, which showed what were the motives behind the submission and who was holding the strings of the action. These actions, however, would not deter the PML-N and its leadership from exposing the inept, incompetent and illegal government of PTI, he added.

Hamza said that in contradiction of the PTI’s so-called austerity drive, the government had increased the expenditure of the Chief Minister House by 20 per cent while slashing the development budget of the province from Rs635 billion to Rs238 billion.