[:en]By Asim Shahzad
LAHORE: The government has decided to allow members to make speeches in the Punjab Assembly House in Punjabi, Saraiki and Mewati languages apart from Urdu.
A meeting of Special Committee No 2 was held in the Punjab Assembly under the chairmanship of Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, in which the amendments to the rules and regulations of the Punjab Assembly, 1997 were considered and the committee asked the members to speak in the House in Urdu and English, in addition to Punjabi, Saraiki and Mewati.
The Committee approved the inclusion of the Code of Conduct for Members in the Rules and Regulations of the Punjab Assembly, 1997.
The committee approved giving powers to Standing Committees to take suo-moto action on issues of public interest
The committee also approved the formation of an ethics committee to implement the Court of Conduct.
The committee also allowed standing committees to make their proceedings public.
PA Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan said parliamentary committees played an important role in the functioning of the parliamentary system of government.
Parliamentary committees are key to ensuring a system of checks and balances. The establishment of parliamentary committees is a shared responsibility of all political parties.
The proposal has sent to assembly for approval in next assembly session.
Assembly members Samiullah Khan, Ahmed Iqbal Chaudhry and Syed Akbar Nawani were present in the meeting. Malik Aftab Ahmed Khan, Amar Rashid Bhatti and Junaid Afzal Sahi also participated.[:]
