PA fails to pass resolutions

LAHORE
Punjab Assembly on Tuesday failed to pass any of the five resolutions submitted by MPAs on both the opposition and treasury benches for private members day.
A resolution moved by the PTI MPA Mian Aslam Iqbal calling for monetary entitlements for martyred members of the Assembly and Punjab Cabinet was ruled pending by the Deputy Speaker. Iqbal referring to the death of Home Minister Shuja Khanzada said members of the Assembly killed in acts of terrorism deserved financial benefits for their families. However, the resolution was shelved after Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan opposed it and said creating special benefits for politicians would ignite resentment in the public over the selective discrimination.
The House reconvened on Tuesday after a delay of one and a half hour with less than 50 MPAs present on both benches. Provincial Minister for Zakat and Ushr Malik Nadeem Kamran and Minister for Cooperatives Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar responded to questions of members for their respective departments. The criteria of selecting government and private hospitals on the district level to receive Zakat funds came under scrutiny after PTI MPA Nausheen Hamid raised the issue. She insisted that the criteria should be changed from population to poverty level in the given district.
The Zakat Minister explained that Zakat committees functional in every district were given funds on the basis of population and would establish the financial need of relevant hospitals on the basis of capacity and access to poor patients. Kamran, however after an interjection by PPP MPA Makhdoom Shahabuddin, admitted that although six months had passed since their establishment four districts including Layyah had yet to benefit from functional Zakat committees. He assured that these would be made functional within 15 days from the date. The committees typically include a Zakat District Officer and Social Welfare Officer.
Shahabuddin in his speech complained that no population census had been carried at the national level by any government since 1998 due to which all development projects were flawed. Nadeem Kamran acknowledged that earlier poor patients were not entertained due to expiry of identity cards. He said it was not possible for the deserving patients coming from remote areas to get treatment facilities due to the expiry of computerised identity cards but now permission has been granted; however, it will be compulsory to submit photocopy of new identity card within two months to the medical social welfare officer. He stated that a law was being devised in coordination with the Health Department to refine the criteria for hospitals receiving Zakat funds. He informed in another question by PTI MPA that separate programmes were in the pipeline for the establishment of vocational institutes in South Punjab and only religious institutes registered with the Punjab Home Department are receiving Zakat funds from the Punjab government.
Provincial Minister for Cooperatives Iqbal Channar meanwhile admitted after a question was raised by PML-N MPA Advocate Asif Bajwa that many deserving claimants for loans from cooperatives banks throughout the province had yet to receive the money despite liabilities with the respective district bank.
Deputy Speaker Sher Ali Gorchani after a point of order was raised by PML-N MPA Javed Akhtar on illegal occupation of land in Rajanpur district and the need for an operation against it clarified that allegations made against him by PTI MPA Sardar Ali Raza Khan Dreshak on a TV talk show of illegally holding hand were all untrue. Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the true captors of land belonging to the State would be exposed by name after thorough investigation. The Leader of the Opposition Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed on a point of order disowned the remarks made by PTI MPA Sardar Ali Raza Khan Dreshak. Continuing with his point of order, he requested that his out-of-turn resolution be admitted by the Deputy Speaker on the pressing problem of rising gas and fertiliser prices. Rasheed criticised the government for adding to the problems of already stressed public by placing a heavy tariff on purchase of gas which would also negatively impact prices of fertilisers. His resolution was denied by the Deputy Speaker as they according to the rules and procedures require an advance seven-day notice. Rana Sanaullah meanwhile told PTI MPA Mian Aslam Iqbal that his party should raise the issue of gas prices in the National Assembly. The private members day agenda remained unaddressed as all five resolutions on the assembly business agenda were not put to a vote. Resolutions submitted by JI MPA Dr Syed Waseem Akhter on funds for public libraries, PML-N MPA Tariq Mehmood Bajwa on cheap medicine and drugs, PPP MPA Makhdoom Shahabuddin on funds for treatment of a Punjabi poet, and PTI MPA Sibtain Khan on water filtration plants for government schools were disposed of as members were absent, and Law Minister Rana Sanaullah added that a Drug Regulatory Authority was already functional in the province.
The House was adjourned for today (Wednesday).