By Asim Shahzad
LAHORE: In the Punjab Assembly session, the opposition raised serious questions regarding the government’s rehabilitation work in flood-affected areas, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced its decision to resign from the standing committees of the assembly.
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According to details, speaking after the question hour in the session—which began two hours late under the chairmanship of Acting Speaker Zaheer Iqbal Chanar—the opposition chief whip Rana Shahbaz termed the government’s rehabilitation package for flood-hit areas as regrettable. He alleged that the government was collecting wheat from landowners’ houses for personal use through paramilitary forces.
Rana Shahbaz noted that although the government had fixed the wheat purchase price at Rs. 3,500 per maund, doubts remained about its implementation. The house was unanimous in condemning the robbery incident at the ancestral residence of PML-N Chief Whip Rana Muhammad Arshad, while government member Ahsan Raza demanded the suspension of DPO Nankana, calling the incident a question mark on the performance of IG Punjab and the police.
Earlier, speaking inside and outside the house, newly elected Opposition Leader Moin Qureshi stated that the PTI parliamentary committee awaited instructions from its central leadership regarding resignations, with a final decision expected by Monday.
Government member Ilyas Chinioti, raising a point of objection, said that the paramilitary force was tasked with removing illegal encroachments but had now started declaring holy sites as encroachments. Government ally Shoaib Siddiqui demanded an agreement with the LWMC for cleaning services in PP-149.
Provincial Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman presented the Amendment Ordinance (Enforcement and Regulation) Punjab 2025, which, along with other bills, was referred to the relevant standing committees by the panel of chairpersons. After completing the agenda, Panel Chairman Bilal Yameen adjourned the session until 10 a.m. on Monday.
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