LAHORE – The Punjab Assembly (PA) on Friday witnessed uproar over Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) member of the provincial assembly (MPA) Imran Zaffar remarks that hooliganism exists in Gujrat and he is receiving death threats and the Chaudhry brothers would be responsible if he or his family is harmed. Opposition MPAs chanted slogans and started thumping desks on Zaffar’s remarks.
PA Deputy Speaker Rana Mashood, who was chairing the session, asked women MPAs to calm down and expressed displeasure over the issue but the House continued to echo with anti-PML-N slogans.
According to details, things took an ugly turn when Zaffar said that he was receiving death threats after he raised issue of a clash between PML-N and PML-Q workers in Gujrat.
The PML-N MPA said that Chaudhrys were responsible for attack on his uncle. After his remarks, PML-Q MPAs started chanting anti-PML-N slogans and the House echoed with slogans for 10 minutes. He also requested the chair to ensure protection to him and his family on which Mashood asked provincial minister Malik Nadeem Kamran to look into the matter and also inform the House. The deputy speaker also asked Zaffar to provide phone numbers of people who has threatened him.
Opposition members said that Zaffar was just creating hue and cry to save his skin, as the court has declared his degree as fake. The deputy speaker said that as custodian of the House he would take notice of the threats passed to the respectable MPA but the situation remained tense. During the question hour session, PML-Q MPA Mohsin Khan Leghari asked the chair that why the law minister was responding to questions relating to the information department and who is parliamentary secretary of the department. Rana Sanaullah informed the House that Dost Khosa is the minister in-charge.
He said that as election activities are in progress at DG Khan, Dost had gone to his home town and in his absences he is responding to queries. Leghari said that according to rules of the Election Commission of Pakistan, a minister could not take part in an election campaign. The law minister said that the minister had gone to his hometown and law never stops him from going to his hometown.
Opposition MPAs said that this justification is not satisfactory, as the concerned minister should have been present in the House, as nothing could be important than the assembly business.
Sanaullah, responding on an adjournment motion moved by Amer Cheema, said that official residence is constitutional right of former president Justice (r) Rafiq Tarar due to which the Punjab government has provided him an official residence considering it a moral duty.
Leghari said that the federal government should provide residence and why the Punjab government did so, on which Sanaullah said that it is also up to the former president that where he wanted to live and as he was interested in living in Lahore so the official residence was provided to him according to law.
The minister said that the Punjab government has demanded the federal government for an alternative residence. He also informed the House that the residence was provided to Tarar in 2008. Responding to a question about special assignments to officers of the information department, Sanaullah said that the Punjab government has assigned special assignments to competent authorities.
He said that officers on special assignment always have double charge and deal with official affairs according to routine. Responding to a supplementary question that why officers from Sargodha and Rawalpindi are being posted in Lahore for special assignments, the law minister said that the department makes such decisions to ensure better working. After the proceedings, the chair adjourned the session until Monday.
