LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly session on Friday turned chaotic as the treasury and opposition benches engaged in a heated debate over the re-arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers.

Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bhachar criticised the government for violating the sanctity of chadar and char dewari and detaining political activists despite their release on bail.

Speaking on a point of order, Mr Bhachar said the government had painted a rosy picture of law and order in the province in the previous session, which ended only two days ago. However, the situation was quite different, as political activists securing bails from courts of law were being detained soon after they came out of prisons.

He said the police were disallowing them from even meeting ailing former opposition leader Mahmoodur Rashid. He demanded that the government explain who was behind these arrests, if not the government itself.

He said Imran Khan was the leader of the single largest party in the country and could not be broken psychologically through such tactics. He added that Nawaz Sharif had termed Gen Zia his spiritual father, while the PML-N had taken oath, despite wearing black armbands, administered by Gen Musharraf in 2008.

At this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mujtaba Shuja got infuriated and said that Gen Bajwa was the father of the PTI, as he had secured the success of the PTI in the 2018 general election. He also lambasted the opposition party for its role in the May 9, 2023, attacks on military installations and said that remnants of former chief justice Saqib Nisar were still supporting the party.

This led to a war of slogans between the two sides, turning the house into a fish market.

In the meantime, opposition MPA Rana Shehbaz pointed out a lack of quorum in the house.

The chair directed the ringing of bells for five minutes to invite the MPAs sitting in the lobbies into the house. However, the chair had to put off the proceedings till Monday afternoon as the required minimum strength of 94 members in the house could not be ensured.

Earlier, both sides lamented the inordinate delays in starting the session, which finally began two hours and 45 minutes late. Sunni Ittehad Council’s Rana Aftab urged the chair and members to take the session seriously, as prolonged delays in starting the proceedings invited ridicule from the galleries. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mujtaba Shuja also regretted the situation and suggested cutting down the delay gradually.

Deputy Speaker Zaheer Iqbal Channer sought assurances from both sides that they would come on time for the session on Monday, and promised to start the proceedings punctually regardless of attendance. On assurance from both sides of the aisle that they would come in time for the session on Monday, the chair said that whether members were present or not, he would begin the proceedings in time.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2024