Daily Times

LAHORE: Despite resistance by the opposition, treasury benches in the Punjab Assembly during Wednesday’s session passed a resolution in favour of disqualified prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, and announced to fight against all conspiracies hatched against him at the legal and political fronts.

The resolution was moved by Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Khalil Tahir Sindhu in which he appreciated the role of Mian Nawaz Sharif for taking bold steps like making Pakistan a nuclear state, starting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and ending terrorism through the National Action Plan and operations Zarb-e-Azb and Raddul Fasaad.

In the resolution, it was stated that the House of representatives of the province of Punjab also showed confidence over Nawaz’s leadership, and committed to fight all conspiracies against him at any legal and political level.

The resolution also said that every conspiracy against damaging democracy in the country would be exposed and the dirty politics of conspirators be buried forever. The resolution further stated that this House considered the activities of such conspirators against national sovereignty, integrity and progress.

The resolution also expressed full confidence over the continuity of democracy, terming it a guarantee of the national progress and integrity.

When the provincial minister initially tried to move the resolution, main opposition party in the Punjab Assembly, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, along with others opposed it. The opposition members also shouted slogans against the ruling Sharif family, on which some treasury legislators also responded.

PTI legislator Asif Mehmmood also pointed out the quorum after seeing a less number of treasury members in the House, on which the session was adjourned for an hour. After the proceedings resumed, the government succeeded in completing the quorum and passed the resolution without any hindrance, because at that time the opposition was out of the chamber. The opposition members also staged a protest outside the assembly building, claiming that the tabling of a resolution about a person disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan over corruption charges in the Panama case was a contempt of court.

Published in Daily Times, September 14^th 2017.