By Asim Shahzad
LAHORE: The issue of the Punjab government’s purchase of a plane resonated in the Punjab Assembly session. PPP member Shazia Abid asked whether the Chief Minister will visit Rajanpur on a plane purchased for Rs 11 billion. In response, Uzma Bukhari said that Bilawal Bhutto can roam around on a Sindh government plane, so this is the Punjab government’s plane. Eight draft laws were presented in the house while the law and order situation was under discussion.
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The Punjab Assembly session began with a delay of 2 hours and 4 minutes under the chairmanship of Speaker Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan. During the question hour, matters related to the Information and Culture Department were discussed.
However, the atmosphere in the house became tense when PPP member Shazia Abid raised a question regarding the purchase of a plane worth Rs 11 billion by the Punjab Chief Minister. In response, Uzma Bukhari said that Bilawal Bhutto can roam around on a Sindh government plane, so this is the Punjab government’s plane. The plane is their choice. Opposition leader Moin Riaz Qureshi also sought a detailed explanation on the purchase of the plane and asked on what basis the plane was purchased and what was its need. Opposition members made paper planes and waved them in the house in protest and raised slogans.
The Speaker of the Punjab Assembly said that if I had to answer, I would have justified the purchase of the plane, but it is not my job to answer. When the opposition spoke in the house regarding the health and imprisonment of the founder of the PTI, Chief Whip Rana Arshad referred to the past and said that the tradition of political revenge was established earlier and those who criticize the current government should also look back at their own time. Government member Ahsan Raza Khan called the founder of the PTI a drug addict, and the house once again erupted in sloganeering and unparliamentary epithets. The Speaker directed that the unparliamentary words used by both sides during the debate be deleted from the proceedings. The Speaker made it clear that using bad words against leaders is not acceptable.
Eight draft laws, including the Child Marriage Restraint Ordinance 2026 and the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Movable Property (Amendment) Ordinance 2026, were presented in the assembly and referred to the committees. After the agenda was completed, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan prorogued the session.
