LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Monday unanimously condemned violence against journalists and termed attacks on them an assault on freedom of expression and asked the federal government to expose, arrest and take propagators to justice.

The resolution followed a boycott of the session’s coverage by the journalists who walked out of the press gallery as a mark of protest as soon as the proceedings started some 105 minutes late than declared time of 2pm. The Treasury and the Opposition expressed sympathy with them and promised a joint resolution, leading to the end of boycott.

The resolution, read by provincial minister for law and parliamentary affairs Rana Sanaullah, co-signed by Mian Aslam Iqbal of the Opposition said: “This House takes aggression against journalists as an attack on the freedom of expression and condemns it in harshest terms. It wants the perpetrators exposed, arrested and brought to justice at the earliest.” Since no one opposed the resolution, it was carried unanimously.

Earlier, Arif Abbassi of the Opposition, speaking on a point of order, asked Speaker to constitute a committee under the leader of the Opposition, Mian Mahmoodur Rashid, to investigate the alleged corruption in the Section-42 companies created by the Punjab government.

“After all, it is a matter of Rs80 billion corruption. How could the same people, who committed the crime in the first place, be investigators as well? Instead of those, the leader of Opposition should lead the investigation, as he does in the Public Accounts Committee,” he demanded.

The Chair, however, denied having named any committee to investigate the matter. “How could I change the head of the committee, which I have not named?” The government might have named a committee but the House has nothing to do with it, he said.

The Standing Committee on Home wanted extension in the period for submitting its report on the motions moved by two members of the House and drew ire of the Chair. “It has become a routine to seek such extensions, which is not a healthy trend. The House has so far been granting extensions but it would not continue with the practice any more. The committees should finish its work on time,” he said, amid desk thumping by the Opposition.

The official business for the day was a debate on the annual report of Punjab Pension Fund 2015-16. The Opposition, however, was not in a mood to oblige. The House at the start of official business had only 30 odd members – less than one-third of the mandatory requirement. As soon as the provincial minister for finance, Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, took the rostrum to start the debate, Ahsan Riaz Fatyana of the Opposition pointed out quorum – killing both the debate and the proceedings instantly.

The Chair gave the Treasury a chance to gather members in the next five minutes when it ordered ringing of bells. But there was no improvement in the numbers and the Chair prorogued the session for an indefinite period.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2017