PA praises army for efforts to curb terrorism

LAHORE

Punjab Assembly on Friday passed a unanimous resolution appreciating the efforts of Pakistan Army and all security institutions in the war against terrorism and the recent successfully completed operation against terrorists in Multan that led to the capture of dozens in the area. 

The resolution moved by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah was also based on the successes achieved in all operations against terrorists. The determination of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was lauded in this regard. The resolution congratulated the officials affiliated with the armed forces, Rangers, Punjab police, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) on behalf of the Punjab Assembly over successful campaigns against terrorists, which even involved those whose head money was declared, in various areas of Punjab, especially in South Punjab.

It was also stated in the resolution that the province had become safer as a result of the activities carried out against the terrorists while also acknowledging the achievements made in Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The resolution was unanimously approved by the Punjab Assembly.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on a rare occasion arrived at Punjab Assembly Secretariat to witness the session’s proceedings.

Despite the fact that he reached the venue quite late, a large number of ministers and government officials waited for quite a long time to meet him. Shahbaz Sharif met various officials in his chamber and left.

It is pertinent to note that almost all cabinet members were present in the House, including Punjab Excise and Taxation Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman who came to the House after a significant absence and for the first time since being freed from the Ministries of Law and Finance taken up respectively by Rana Sanaullah and Dr Ayesha Ghous Pasha. 

The resolution’s praise for Nawaz Sharif and Shabhaz Sharif was however met with disagreement on points of order by PTI MPA Abbasi and the Leader of the Opposition Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed who stated that the success could only be attributed to Pakistan Army and other security institutions.  Meanwhile, question hour on Friday focused on the departments of Higher Education and Excise and Taxation. JI MPA Dr Syed Waseem Akther staged a token walk-out over the continued sale of alcohol in Punjab. 

Responding to this, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah lamented Akhter should demonstrate patience as this issue was a reality in the province along with the use of cocaine and other illicit drugs and needed to be discussed on an open forum. For the remainder of his speech, Sanaullah made indirect hits at PTI Chief Imran Khan for using cocaine and letting it influence his political career. This was met with critical chants from the opposition bench. 

On a point of order, PTI MPA Shunila Ruth brought the attention of the House to the vulnerable condition of Christians in Gujrat who similar to their counterparts in Mandi Bahauddin were being faced with threats to their life.

Minorities Minister Khalil Tahir Sindhu informed the House that the Home Department was monitoring the situation and cancelled all false applications against Christians registered by local police. Sindhu added that he would be visiting the area on the orders of the chief minister.