March 17, 2006	Friday	Safar 16, 1427

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LAHORE, March 16: The Punjab government on Thursday withdrew the permission for one-dish servings at wedding ceremonies. The permission had been granted through the Punjab Marriage Functions (Prohibition of Ostentatious Displays and Wasteful Expenses) Act, 2003. But it was declared as ultra vires of the Constitution and was struck down by the Supreme Court in November 2004.

The government then introduced a bill in the house in November 2005, and the same was passed on Thursday to repeal the 2003 Act.

PRIVILEGE: PPP’s Shafqat Abbasi sought implementation of a resolution adopted by the house on Nov 22, 2005, calling for allowing prisoners, serving long terms, conjugal visits by their spouses at least thrice a year.

Under the law, the government was bound to implement within three months any resolution adopted by the house.

Mr Abbasi said the provincial home department had breached privilege of the whole house by not implementing the resolution within the stipulated time.

He submitted that the motion be referred to the Privileges Committee so that the officials concerned could be grilled.

Minister for prisons Saeed Akbar Niwani defended the department by citing lack of funds for building rooms in prisons as the reason.

The incumbent prisons were overcrowded, as due to paucity of funds even structures of the prisons could not be constructed, he added.

However, he said the department was working out the project.

Law minister Raja Muhammad Basharat told the house that the project had been initiated in Faisalabad and Lahore prisons and it would be expanded with the provision of more funds.

The chair disposed of the privilege motion with the direction to the department that steps be taken for implementing the resolution as early as possible.

CHAIR UNDER FIRE: Deputy Speaker Sardar Shaukat Husain Mazari was equally targeted by the treasury as well as the opposition for discrimination in giving floor to members.

PPP’s Hasan Murtaza alleged that the chair was giving the floor “on the basis of personality one has and the make-up one wears.”

“I protest this conduct and walk out of the house to hold an assembly in the open at the stairs of the Punjab Assembly to tell my constituents that the house has been seized by a few.”

As Mr Murtaza walked out of the house, the law minister took the floor to condemn his attitude, citing that under the rules of business the conduct of the chair could not be discussed.

Requesting the chair to expunge the statements given by Murtaza, he also criticised the opposition benches for not condemning the attitude of their colleague.

Mr Mazari, however, declined to expunge the statement, as MMA’s Asghar Gujjar, PPP’s Rana Aftab and PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah expressed their sorrow at Murtaza’s behaviour and reposing their trust in the neutrality of the chair.

Expressing gratitude for the unanimous trust shown by the house in his conduct, the deputy speaker accepted a plea of Rana Sana and sent him along with Rana Aftab to bring back the protesting MPA.

The house was discussing an adjournment motion regarding gang-rape of a minor, when ruling PML’s Sheikh Alauddin protested that he was not being given the floor despite repeated requests.

He said that he wanted to raise the issue of spurious and sex drugs flooding the province. He said he was given time when health minister Tahir Ali Javed had left the house.

The minister, however, had returned by that time and he requested the chair to fix some time for a thorough debate on the issue instead of taking it randomly.

The chair accepted the request and also decided to fix a general debate on the issue of increasing incidents of gang-rape of minor girls.

Days for the both debates will be decided later.