By Asim Shahzad
LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly session turned chaotic on Monday as government and opposition members exchanged slogans and allegations against each other’s leadership, while Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan expressed concern over ministers’ lack of interest in the House proceedings.
The session, chaired by Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, grew tense soon after it began, when opposition member Sheikh Imtiaz pointed out the quorum. The government scrambled for over half an hour to gather enough members, but in the absence of the Minister for Higher Education, the Speaker announced he would write to the Chief Minister about the ministers’ non-serious attitude.
After a 35-minute delay, the House resumed and quickly descended into chaos again when government members Ahsan Riaz, Malik Waheed, Rana Arshad, and Tariq Gul reacted sharply to remarks made by opposition MPA Mian Ijaz Shafi. Both sides shouted slogans and hurled accusations at each other.
During the uproar, opposition member Hafiz Farhat recited a critical poem in protest, which further inflamed tensions. The Speaker ordered the removal of unparliamentary language from the record but was again confronted with a quorum call from the opposition. With the quorum not complete, the Speaker adjourned the sitting until 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
