LAHORE, July 21: Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raja Basharat laments that a majority of parliamentarians do not take interest in law making process. He was speaking at a workshop on Parliamentary Reporting and Media here on Thursday. He said most of the MPs, including the opposition, absented themselves when the house would take up legislation work. The workshop had been organized by the Press Gallery Committee of the Punjab Assembly in collaboration with the Press Institute of Pakistan and the Labour Education Foundation.

Mr Basharat presided while management and professional development minister and former deputy speaker Sardar Hasan Akhtar Moakkal and The News resident editor Salim Bokhari were the chief guests.

He urged the media to pinpoint such absentees and also those who did not utter even a single word during their whole tenure in the house.

He did not agree with an earlier speaker’s assertion that most of the laws framed by the Punjab Assembly during the last about three years were consequential and referred to the laws about farm tax, exemption from property tax to five marla houses, consumer protection, child protection bureaus, and government employees and journalists housing foundations as proof.

Mr Moakkal said due to disruptions in democratic process MPs could not develop good traditions.

Admitting that the rule of point of order had been misused in 90 per cent cases, he, however, stressed that codes were necessary for every aspect of life.

Mr Bokhari said standard of reporting depended on quality of parliamentarians.

Committee president Najam Wali Khan dilated upon reporting ethics, senior reporter Salman Ghani discussed requirements of impartial reporting, Middle East Study Centre director Mansoor Jafar spoke on parliamentary reporting in developed states and Dr Wiqar Chowdhry on parliamentary reporting in historical context.

Deputy secretary (legislation) Malik Maqsood could not turn up to present his lecture on parliamentary procedure and terminology as the speaker reportedly did not allow him.