LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has come hard on the provincial government, saying that in the last four decades, the law and order has never been as bad as it is now.

Presiding over the assembly session on Monday where the law and order came under discussion after Ahmad Shah Khaga, a Treasury member, narrated the tale of robbery at his home.

Mr Elahi embarrassed the government when he told the law minister: “The dacoits are on the rampage throughout Punjab. Neither arrested, nor punished, they are enjoying a field day. Where should a common man go? Call all regional (RPOs) and district (DPOs) police officers on a daily basis, seek reports, hold meetings, monitor their performance and improve situation.”

Earlier, Mr Khaga also grilled the government for failing to maintain law and order.

“The night between Jan 12 and 13, around 20 robbers broke into our home. Held the entire family hostage at gunpoint and escaped with whatever they could manage to get. If a representative of over 150,000 people is not safe in the province, who else is?” Khaga asked his Treasury colleagues and his own government.

The law minister assured the House that the case of Mr Khaga would be treated on a priority basis.

Earlier, the issue of razing of house of PML-N legislatures, Afzal Khokhar and Saiful Malook Khokhar, through a police operation reverberated in the house when Rana Mashhood stood up on a point of order and called the operation an “illegal attempt to change loyalties”.

He went on to say: “It was not only the Khokhars’ place demolished on Sunday but the house of Suhail Shaukat was also raided to teach him a lesson. This reign of terror has one aim, i.e. change of people’s loyalties. But the PTI must remember that the governments don’t last forever and political behaviour outlasts them by far.”

Defending the Sunday operation, Provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat found nothing illegal about it.The law minister also introduced Panahgah (shelter homes) Ordinance in the house along with the King Edward Medical University (Amend) Ordinance, which were referred to committees concerned for a report within 60 days.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2021