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LAHORE, June 16: Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat came under fire from his colleagues on treasury benches when he opposed a privilege motion moved by Iftikhar Chhachhar against Okara DSP investigation Malik Hamid Mahmood.
The mover alleged that the DSP called all the MPAs dishonest when he had visited his office on June 14. The Raja said he was not ready to comment on the motion without seeking a reply from the home department. He said another member, Lubna Malik, had withdrawn her a similar privilege motion when it had been referred to the committee.
The law minister also criticized MPAs for involving the house in breach of the privilege of a member. This infuriated his colleagues on treasury benches besides rivals on opposition benches.
He was blamed for suspecting his colleagues in the house and protecting the officials who, they said, had never been penalized for misbehaving with MPAs during the last 70 years.
Denying the impression that officials went scot free, the Raja said recently a police officer had been suspended from service for his attitude before the privileges committee even though in the eyes of the committee members the mover was wrong in tabling the motion. He said a mover should stick to their stand after tabling a motion.
DR MITHU: Unlike his past practice of accommodating the opposition, the law minister seemed unrelenting on Wednesday in giving a relaxation to the PML-N on Dr Nazir Mithu Dogar's issue.
Dr Mithu had recently been arrested in a dacoity-cum-murder case with the PML-N terming a foul play in the affair. Party's parliamentary leader Rana Sana urged the government to produce Dr Mithu before the panel which would hear police on Sunday to go through all the cases against the PML-N MPA.
He alleged that all dacoits in the incident that took place on Dec 24, 2003, had been identified and Mithu was included in them. But he was arrested in the case even before a decision on a petition filed by the victim's family with the Multan bench of the high court at the behest of police to include Dr Mithu's name in the FIR.
Raja Basharat said he was ready to discuss the issue with Rana Sana on Sunday. However, if production of Mithu in the house was insisted, he could tackle the issue by not opposing the motion and letting it be referred to the relevant committee and thus there would be no chance of producing Dr Mithu in the house.
Then the deputy speaker intervened and asked the PML-N leader to avail Sunday's opportunity of discussing the issue with the law minister. If not satisfied, he would again have a chance to press the motion. Rana Sana agreed saying the Raja had misunderstood him that he was insisting on issuing production orders by the speaker for Dr Mithu.
