Opposition places a question mark on Shahbaz Sharif’s sanity

Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz on Tuesday submitted an application to the speaker of the house for constituting a medical board for the mental examination of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
While talking to the media, opposition leader Raja Riaz claimed that Shahbaz Sharif was mentally upset and needed a thorough mental examination, adding that a medical board should be formed in this regard.
He said that the opposition would move the Lahore High Court (LHC) if the speaker did not execute the proposed application.
He also said that if any chaos and killing emerged during this duration, the CM and the speaker would be responsible for that.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah rubbished Riaz’s statement.
While answering a query about Raja Riaz’s application to the Speaker of Punjab Assembly asking for the psychiatric check up of Punjab CM, the provincial law minister said that it was on record that President Asif Ali Zardari was a psychiatric patient, so instead of Mian Shahbaz Sharif, the opposition leader Raja Riaz should go for his own medical examination and that of Asif Ali Zardari.
The parliamentary leader Zulfiqar Gondal, deputy parliamentary leader Shaukat Basra and others were also present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supported the establishment of new provinces in South Punjab and Bahawalpur.
Talking to reporters after the session of the Punjab Assembly, he said that the party was also in favor of restoration of Bahawalpur as a separate province according to it’s1950 status.
Sanaullah said that the PML-N wanted a national commission for new provinces with the representation of all the political parties inside and outside the parliament.
He added that such a commission must decide about constituting new provinces on merit including South Punjab, Bahawalpur and Hazara.
Earlier, the government and the opposition leaders had exchanged harsh words during Tuesday’s session of the Punjab Assembly which was chaired by Speaker Rana Mohammad Iqbal.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Shaukat Basra demanded that the assembly speaker should nominate a list of legislators for a commission to carve out southern Punjab as a separate province.Basra also threatened to disrupt the session if his demands were not met.
Opposition lawmakers chanted slogans advocating the creation of a southern Punjab province.
During the session, the speaker said that the issue of establishing the commission for new provinces should be taken up in Punjab as it had been taken up in other regions of the country.
The continuing ruckus in the Punjab Assembly prompted the assembly’s speaker to postpone the proceedings til 10 am today (Aug 29).

Assembly sitting lasts only 39 minutes

The Punjab Assembly, which met for only 39 minutes during the second sitting of the 40th session on Tuesday, again witnessed a walkout by PPP and PML legislators over nominations made for the federal commission on new provinces.
During the first sitting on Monday, after exchanging harsh words with treasury benches over the Punjab Assembly not nominating two members for the commission, legislators from the two parties walked out of the House.
The Chief Minister did not attend the proceedings while the leader of the Opposition remained in the House for six minutes. None of the parliamentary leaders attended the sitting. The Quorum, visibly lacking at various stages, was pointed out by a PPP legislator but the Speaker did not take any action.
Six out of 32 questions appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministry. Additionally six supplementary questions were also asked. Seven Points of Order consumed five minutes. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.