Punjab Assembly adjourned amidst protest

Lahore: The Punjab Assembly was adjourned on Monday without taking up its scheduled business amidst opposition’s protest against promotion of a civil servant who is under investigation for corruption charges, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.

The Punjab Assembly met for 27 minutes. The sitting started at 1449 hours against the scheduled time 1400 hours. The Deputy Speaker presided over the entire sitting as the Speaker was not present. The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting. The Leader of the Opposition attended the entire sitting. As many as 28 MPAs (8%) were present at outset and 65 (18%) at adjournment of the sitting. The parliamentary leader of PTI was present during the proceedings. Only one minority lawmaker attended the sitting. The House did not take up the scheduled legislative business.

Only one out of 18 Starred Questions was answered during the proceedings while 11 Starred Questions were disposed of and six were deferred due to absence of the concerned lawmakers.

The lawmakers raised two Points of Order consuming four minutes of the proceedings. The opposition lawmakers staged a protest against the promotion of a civil servant who is under investigation for corruption charges and kidnapping of a person who raised voice against corruption in Multan Metro Bus Project. The House was adjourned to meet again at 1000 hours on Tuesday.