Daily Times

Sir: It is good to note that the incomplete new building of the Punjab Assembly is now going to be completed soon after an inordinate delay of over 10 years. This good news for the newly elected legislatures was given when new PA Speaker Ch Parvez Elahi, along with Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar visited the since long under construction new PA building in Chairing Cross Lahore some days back.

The construction of new PA building was started during the tenure of Ch Parvez Elahi as the Chief Minister and substantial work to the extent of more than 70 per cent was already completed when he stepped down. His successor Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who remained in power for two tenures, did not show any interest at all in providing funds for the completion of the under-construction PA building as well as the new hostel and the mosque built within the premises, for the reasons better known to him.

The Punjab Assembly has a total strength of 371 members and the existing House cannot accommodate all of them. Former Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan instead of taking appropriate steps for ensuring completion of the under-construction building had declared the visitors galleries as part of the House to accommodate more than 90 members up there. Somehow, the members allocated seats in the visitors galleries never bothered to go upstairs and sit there.

Newly-elected MPAs from both sides of the House had complained to Speaker Ch Parvez Elahi about shortage of accommodation and after reviewing the progress of work, he has now assured the MPAs that next budget session will hopefully be held in the new PA building. The MPAs should keep their fingers crossed and pray that all goes well, and that the new building is completed before June 2019 as assured by Speaker Ch Parvez Elahi.

MUHAMMAD MURTAZA

Lahore

Published in Daily Times, September 21^st 2018.