LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly session on Tuesday was characterised by fiery arguments between members and the unanimous passing of a resolution condemning the violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) by India.

The session commenced two hours and 18 minutes late, with opposition members entering the House amidst protests and slogans. A major clash erupted between Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mujtaba Shuja and opposition member Sardar Ali Khan over the issue of alleged discrimination in turning on microphones of the members by the assembly staff. The verbal spat quickly escalated, with both members engaging in a heated exchange of expletives.

Treasury member Amjad Ali Javed expressed his outrage over the dropping of a university project in his constituency (Toba Tek Singh) by the higher education department. In protest, Mr Javed announced his decision to withdraw all questions pertaining to the department in the assembly and even recited a poem to vent his frustration.

Another government member, Sheikh Imtiaz, reacted strongly to the registration of a case against him for organising an anti-India rally and burning an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He expressed his intention to burn another effigy of Modi in front of the Punjab Assembly.

Panel of Chairperson Samiullah Khan subsequently announced that Sheikh Imtiaz would not be given the microphone for “political point scoring” in the future. However, Law Minister Sohaib Bharath assured Mr Imtiaz that he would try to resolve the case registration issue.

During the session, seven adjournment motions, including those put by government members Shaukat Raja regarding communication and works department and Amjad Ali Javed regarding housing and urban development and public health engineering departments, were addressed.

A significant development was the unanimous adoption of a resolution moved by treasury MPA Uzma Kardar, condemning India’s violation of the Indus Waters Treaty.

Chief Whip Rana Arshad, Uzma Kardar, and government member Amna Sheikh extended congratulations to the Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir on becoming a Field Marshal. A resolution by government member Samiullah Khan regarding a reported decrease in the crime rate in Lahore was also passed by a majority vote.

Upon completion of the agenda, Panel of Chairperson Raja Shaukat Bhatti adjourned the session until Wednesday (today) afternoon.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2025