It was an unusual day in the provincial assembly of Punjab on Wednesday as Leader of the House Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif graced the session with his presence, forcing other lawmakers of the ruling party to attend the session in large numbers.
Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was elected as an MPA from one of the constituencies of Lahore in the general election of 2013, and he came to the assembly only 10 times since taking his oath three years ago. Sharif attended only two sittings in the ongoing parliamentary year which is going to expire by the end of this month.
Almost all the cabinet members were also present in the house although they do not bother to come to the house in routine days.
The members of treasury benches gave a warm welcome to their leader and the house was resonated with the slogans of ‘Sher Aya’ (the lion is here).
Shehbaz Sharif in his address, while talking about the initiatives of his government which according to him have helped decrease the electricity shortfall drastically, said that in the past the people facing long hours of load shedding were on the roads demanding electricity supply, but today not a single person can be seen on the roads to protest against load shedding.
He added that the work is in progress on the Bahawalpur Solar Park and electricity is being inducted in the national grid thorough solar resources.
Opp’s TORs are designed to target individual:
He said that the prime minister has presented himself for accountability in the wake of Panama Leaks and he has also put his case in front of the parliament. “The Terms of References (TORs) prepared by the opposition parties reveal that they have crafted these TORs just to target an individual”, he commented.
The chief minister in his speech talked about the development projects of his government and discussed how the industries of his father were nationalised back in 1972. “The nation will never forgive those who are creating hindrance in the development projects of the country,” he said.
The CM said that Prime Minister Nawaz had again presented his case in the parliament and stated the facts. He said that members of parliament and the whole nation listened to his speech and they will be the real judge.
He said that corruption, plunder, commission and waiving of loans had weakened the foundations of the country and the nation wants an end to such practices. He said that people are united over transparent and fair accountability.
Shehbaz Sharif said that there is a need to move ahead without wasting any time and such a system will be evolved that no dishonest person could undermine national interests. He said that Pakistani people know who is serving them honestly and dedicatedly and who has been involved in loot and corruption in the past. He said that the facts about Swiss bank accounts, NICL scandal and the ruthless loot and plunder of the country’s wealth are well known to the people and they want accountability of such elements.
OPP PROTESTS CM’S DEPARTURE:
Soon after the chief minister left the house, the opposition started protesting and raised anti government slogans. Leader of the Opposition Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed said that the CM does not have any courage to listen to the opposition as he left the house shortly after delivering his speech.
Rasheed said Punjab is being ruled by a single person as all the powers lie with the CM, adding that the nations are not made by building roads, trains and bridges.
Earlier in the day, Punjab Agriculture, Food and Drug Authority Bill 2016 was passed by the assembly.
The session was adjourned till Thursday morning.