LAHORE: As the education department continues to tender apologies in reply to most of the queries asked about its working in the ongoing Punjab Assembly session, the protesting lawmakers say they are “content with” the working of the department.

Parliamentary secretary for higher education Mehwish Sultana had to say sorry when she could not submit a comprehensive reply to a question of MPA Malik Arshad advocate about the posts of librarians in state-run colleges in the province on Tuesday.

Acting speaker Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani pended the query as the lawmaker bemoaned that it had been pended twice earlier.

She had to tender apology once again when she could not respond to supplementary questions by MPA Mian Tahir regarding provision of buses to Faisalabad colleges and hiring their crew.

This query too had been put off earlier and the chair had to keep it pending again.

Dr Farzana Nazir’s question was also put off as the department did not respond to it even 15 months after its submission. Mr Gorchani, who had to come to the rescue of Ms Sultana many a time, sought a report from the department to fix the officers concerned responsible for the situation.

Mian Tahir adopted a novel way of protest by refusing to put up any supplementary question when the secretary had to say sorry to his next written query.

“What to do if the department fails to reply a question even 18 months after its submission,” he questioned.

It may be mentioned that Mr Gorchani had warned the education authorities to properly brief and prepare the parliamentary secretary for facing questions of lawmakers when the department had been taken up during the Question Hour last week.

The House passed with a thumping majority a resolution demanding the federal government levy a heavy tax on the agriculture produce being imported from India.

Tabled by Jamaat-i-Islami’s Dr Waseem Akhtar, the resolution said that duty-free import of farm produce was hurting local farmers and the federal government should impose duty on it to save the farming community.

Interestingly, a treasury member, Mian Naseer, opposed the move in his personal capacity as the government refused to do the same on the plea that the matter related with the federal government so it had no issue with it.

MPA Naseer argued that the resolution represented a certain thinking and class and not the framers. He wondered that none was against Indian films and dramas being watched in every household nor was against getting medical treatment from the neighbouring country but trade with it was being opposed.

The House also passed Ahmed Shah Khagga’s resolution that sought severe penalty for drivers of the vehicles involved in road accidents.

It also adopted Sheikh Ijaz Ahmed’s resolution that the elected representatives and bureaucrats should be persuaded to get their children admitted to state-run schools for improving the institutions’ education standards.

Published in Dawn March 4th , 2015

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