LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Monday witnessed a heated exchange of words between the treasury and opposition members, as the latter expressed their strong displeasure over the absence of ministers in the House.

Opposition MPAs Rana Aftab Ahmed and Rana Shahbaz drew the attention of the Panel of Chairpersons to the absence of ministers and parliamentary secretaries in the House.

Rana Aftab urged the panel to adjourn the session for half an hour, stating that there was a lack of seriousness regarding the assembly proceedings.

Rana Shahbaz questioned the purpose of the session in the absence of government representatives, asking, “If there is no minister in the House, who will answer the questions?”

He remarked that only 10 treasury MPAs were present in the House and they themselves were witnessing how the assembly was functioning.

He also pointed out that the opposition could raise the issue of quorum due to the absence of ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

The session also saw vocal protest from Rana Shahbaz, who chanted slogans in the assembly.

Despite the opposition’s concerns, the government presented the annual performance reports of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency for the years 2013-2023 in the House.

Later, expressing dissatisfaction over not being heard, opposition member Waqas Maan pointed out the lack of quorum.

Taking notice of this, the Panel of Chairperson, Raheela Khadim Hussain, ordered the ringing of the bells for five minutes to complete the quorum. However, as the government failed to meet the required quorum, the chair adjourned the proceedings until Tuesday (today) afternoon.

Earlier, during the question hour, Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja answered the queries related to his department.

Responding to a question, he stated that a total of 60 positions were vacant in the department in the Toba Tek Singh district. He elaborated that 16 posts were vacant in the Punjab Treasury and Accounts Service, while another seven existed under the Controller General of Accounts.

The minister explained that the department was managing its work by transferring individuals from other districts to fill the vacant positions temporarily.

He also mentioned that 123 employees of the finance department were currently involved in court cases in the high court, suggesting that their potential return could create further administrative challenges.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2025