Debate on panel of chairmen delays PA session

LAHORE: Non-serious attitude of Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker brought serious embarrassment for the government which in his absence on the first day of the fresh session initiated the proceedings without announcing the panel of chairmen.

The act of starting the PA session without the announcement of the panel of chairmen not only invited serious criticism on the government but also put the PA business to a halt for more than three hours unless the issue was resolved when Secretary announced the panel on the pressure of Opposition.

On the first day of the sixth session of the Punjab Assembly, Deputy Speaker Mir Dost Muhammad Mazari was to chair the proceedings as PA Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is currently acting as Punjab Governor in the absence of sitting Governor Chaudhry Sarwar. However, Mir Dost Muhammad Mazari didn’t turn up to the PA session and it was later told by his staff that on Monday, the first day of the assembly session, Mir Dost Muhammad Mazari had a one on one meeting with visiting Crown Prince of UAE Sheikh Muhammad bin Zaid Al-Nahyan in Rahimyar Khan.

Real trouble for the Treasury started after it initiated the assembly proceedings with MPA Mian Muhammad Shafi in chair without announcing the panel of chairmen which immediately invited serious criticism and protest from the Opposition benches.

The Opposition members first came hard on Deputy Speaker for his “non-serious” attitude and later rejected the proceedings without the announcement of the panel of chairmen.

Malik Muhammad Ahmed, senior legislator of PML-N while citing PA Rules of Procedures 13, stated that in the absence of Speaker, it was the duty of Deputy Speaker to chair the session and announce the panel of chairmen which could chair the assembly in the absence of the Deputy Speaker.

Waris Kallu, another PML-N MPA on the occasion, stated that there was no constitutional value of the assembly proceeding without the chair and urged Mian Shafi to leave the Speaker’s chair until the panel of chairmen was announced.

Azma Bokhari, another Opposition MPA, slammed the government and stated that it had summoned the assembly proceedings, spent millions of rupees but it couldn’t ensure the presence of the Deputy Speaker.

Peer Ashraf Rasool of PML-N stated that the assembly sitting was totally unconstitutional and Opposition wouldn’t let it continue unless the constitutional course was adopted.

Punjab Minister for Prosecution Chaudhry Zaheer while responding to the criticism from the Opposition benches said that this panel of chairmen was announced in the last session and Mian Shafi was part of it. Raja Basharat time and again tried to explain legal position of the government over initiating the PA session but every time his stance was rejected. Abdullah Warraich, one of the senior legislators of the House representing the Treasury benches cited an example of the 1985 when in the absence of Speaker, Deputy Speaker and panel of chairmen, the assembly proceedings started with the senior most member of the House in chair with the consensus of the members.

Meanwhile, Malik Asad Khokher, the newly-elected MPA hurriedly took oath as the PA member but the Opposition rejected his position as the member of the House. Malik Ahmed of PML-N stated that this oath had no constitutional worth unless the assembly was chaired either by Speaker, Deputy Speaker or someone from the panel of the chairmen. For nearly three hours, the PA couldn’t take up any business after which, an MPA cited another Rules of Procedures which states that in the absence of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, the Secretary would announce panel of chairmen.