LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday passed six bills on private members day after suspending rules to take up the legislative business before the Question Hour.

       Interestingly, agenda of the day was not issued even after proceedings of the house had started after a (usual) delay of two and a half hours.

       Rule No 42 of the Rules of Procedure says that questions and their answers will be taken up in the first hour of a sitting and traditionally these are taken up immediately after recitation of the Quran and Na’at.

       But, Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi suspended the rule on Tuesday and took up legislative work first.

       Five bills, four of them related to private universities, were passed, while two fresh bills for grant of charter to new private universities were introduced without circulating the same among the MPAs as well as press gallery members.

       PML-N lawmaker Azma Bukhari regretted that members were neither provided agenda of the day nor were copies of the bills being introduced in the house.

       QUESTION HOUR: Law Minister Raja Basharat and the opposition joined hands in criticising Transport Minister Jehanzeb Khichhi for answering the queries of the lawmakers without preparation.

       Raja Basharat lamented that ministers would come to the house without proper briefings and would put up three-year old answers when the questions raised years ago would have lost their worth and purpose.

       Two questions about the likely start of the Orange Line Metro train were included in today’s Question Hour though the train had become operational over a year ago.

       Advising his cabinet colleagues to get briefings on the latest situation from their relevant departments before coming to answer the questions, Raja Basharat also demanded a ruling from the chair on the issue.

       His views were endorsed by Ms Bukhari who said that the house was being run in violation of the Rules of Procedure. She said answers to questions were kept pending for two years and if somehow these were taken up, the relevant minister would be missing from the house.

       The chair held by Panel of Chairmen Waseem Badozai agreed to the opinion but did not immediately give the ruling.

       The house unanimously adopted a resolution calling for officially observing the death anniversary of First Righteous Caliph Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). The resolution was moved by MPA Moavia Azam Tariq.

       The session was later prorogued for an indefinite period.

       Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2021