Punjab assembly passes various bills amid opposition protest 

The opposition members in the Punjab assembly session on Monday demanded Punjab Chief Minister Ch Parvez Elahi take a vote of confidence, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

The Punjab Assembly session started with a delay of 2 hours and 49 minutes. Speaker Sardar Sibtain Khan presided over the session. 

During the proceedings, the opposition members surrounded the speaker's dais and tore copies of the agenda of the meeting for not meeting their demands. They raised slogans against the government and in favour of their leaders. They kept chanting, “Ek Wari Phir Sher”.  

They observed that the provincial cabinet has been dissolved and unconstitutional work will not be allowed in the absence of the ministers. They said that January 11, is the date of departure of the PTI government. “Only the Chief Minister has been given permission till 11 by the court, not the ministers,” they said, adding that the Lahore High Court had annulled the Governor's decision to the extent of the Chief Minister.  

 Amid the hue and cry of the opposition, Provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat tabled various bills for approval. These were “Punjab Public Defender Service Bill 2023”, “Punjab Shops and Establishment Amendment Bill 2021 “, “Punjab Procurement Regulatory Authority Bill 2022 “, “Punjab Urban Immovable Property Tax Bill 2021 “, “Women Hostel Authority Bill 2021 “, “Punjab Finance Amendment Bill 2021”, “Punjab Domestic Workers Bill 2021”, “Food Authority Amendment Bill, 2023”, “Punjab Medical and Health Institution Amendment Bill 2021 “, “Alternative Dispute Resolution Amendment Bill 2023”, Co-operative Societies Punjab (Amendment) and Repeal Bill 2023”, “Public Sector Universities (Amendment)‎ Bill 2022”, University of Attock Bill 2023, 

“Punjab Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority Amendment Bill 2019”, and Social Security Amendment Bill 2021 were tabled in the assembly by suspending the rules of the proceedings of the assembly.  All the bills, except “University of Attock Bill 2023” were approved by the House unanimously. 

The Speaker Punjab assembly sent the Attock University Bill 2023 to the special committee for further consideration.

Earlier, the House offered Fatiha for the former MPA Sardar Mohammad Jafar Khan Leghari. 

PTI central leader Asad Umar was present in the speaker’s gallery. 

PTI leader Fayyaz Ul Hassan on a point of order said PML-N leaders have such a weak vision that they called a monkey with a mustache as a lion. They should be ashamed, he is not a tiger at all, he added. 

The speaker adjourned the proceedings of the Punjab Assembly session till Jan 10 at 2 pm (tomorrow).