HASSAN ABBAS

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Thursday extended the period of validity of The Punjab Agricultural Marketing Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Ordinance 2019, The Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2019, The Punjab Village Panchayats and Neighbourhood Councils (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 and The Punjab Local Government (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2019 for the period of 90 days.

The House extended the period of validity of The Punjab Agricultural Marketing Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 promulgated on 26 September 2019 for a further period of 90 days with effect from 25 December 2019.

It also extends the period of validity of the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 (XV of 2019) and Punjab Village Panchayats and Neighbourhood Councils (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 (XVI of 2019), promulgated on 05 November 2019, for a further period of ninety days with effect from 03 February 2020.

The Punjab Assembly further extends the validity of the Punjab Local Government (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2019 (XVII of 2019), promulgated on 16 November 2019, for a further period of ninety days with effect from 14 February 2020.

Audit reports on the Accounts of Revenue Receipts of Government of the Punjab for the Audit Year 2017-18, reports on the accounts of Public Sector Companies Government of the Punjab for the Audit Year 2017-18 (Volume-II), report on the Accounts of Disaster Management Organisations, Punjab for the Audit Year 2017-18 and audit Report on the Accounts of C&W, HUD&PHE, Irrigation, LG&CD Departments and Infrastructure Development Authority Punjab (IDAP), Government of the Punjab for the Audit Year 2018-19 were laid in the House.

While responding to the adjournment motion of PML (N) MPA Sheikh Allauudin regarding sexual abuse of children and pornography, Law Minister Raja Basharat said that the government has taken strict action against those who were involved in this inhuman activity. He said the government will bring legislation if needed for punishing the culprits involved in such kind of heinous crimes.

Earlier, PML (N) MPA Sami Ullah Khan pointed out the quorum but it was completed upon which both oppositions and treasury members chanted slogans against the leadership of each other.

While responding to the sloganeering of opposition, Raja Basharat said that opposition leader Hamza Shahbaz is using the production order only for doing politics. He does not have any interest in proceedings of the House. He also said that there was no amendment introduced by opposition in the bill the other day presented in the House. The answers of the questions relating to communication and works department were given by Parliamentary Secretary by Sardar Shahabuddin Sehar.