PML-N boycotts, PPP attends PA session

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly session on Tuesday once again faced adjournment as the Treasury was unable to meet quorum. The PA session started with a delay of nearly one and an hour hours with Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the chair.

The performance of Rescue 1122/Punjab Emergency Service came under discussion during the PA session and Law Minister Raja Basharat, while criticising the past government of PML-N government stated that it did not make any service structure of the organisation.He said situation would have been better if any attention was paid towards its service structure.

The PA Speaker said that while he was CM, the rescue service was initiated and its vehicles used to reach the spot within two to three minutes of emergency. However, these days, they were reaching the spot with a delay of nearly 20 to 25 minutes.

The PML-N members once again took up the issue of non-issuance of production orders for Hamza Shahbaz Sharif and Salman Rafique. They stated that treatment being meted out to MPAs during appearance before court by police personnel was highly condemnable, on which, the chair directed the law minister to ensure this did not happen again.

PML-N MPA Rana Mashood said that protest would continue until the production orders for the MPAs detained by NAB were issued. He also claimed that former President Pervez Musharraf had apologised to Salman Shahbaz, whom he came across at Hyde Park, London. Chaudhry Zaheerud Din, minister for prosecution, demanded PML-N leadership apologise to the Model Town victims and their families.

Meanwhile, PML-N boycotted the assembly proceedings but PPP did not become part of it as its members continued to attend the session.

social welfare: Provincial Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat has said that Social Welfare, Bait-ul-Maal and Women Development Department will introduce new laws and new vision besides the first social welfare policy in the history of the province to improve its performance.

He was chairing a meeting of the Department of Social Welfare, Bait-ul-Maal and Women Development at Civil Secretariat on Tuesday.

Raja Basharat said that solid steps should be taken to prevent dengue in all the offices and affiliated units of the department. "The Advisory committees should be completed in all districts within two days." He directed the participants to take effective steps to provide the unavailable facilities in their respective institutions and raise the target of funds from Rs50 million to Rs500 million by registering new institutions for the rehabilitation of the disabled. The law minister said that the long-term posting of staff in same offices would be rationalised.

Seminar: Provincial Minister for Revenue Colonel (R) Malik Muhammad Anwar attended the seminar on "Patwar Nizam, from Past to Present" as a chief guest.

The seminar was organised by Anjuman Patwariyan and Qanoongoyaan. Representatives of Anjuman as well as other field staff of revenue department from across the province attended the seminar. The provincial minister, while addressing the participants of the seminar, said that the digital system has radically transformed the role of Patwaris; however, the importance of the Patwari system cannot be denied. The present era is an era of digitisation. It is important that the patwaris should embrace themselves with the requirements of modern times.