Daily Times

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly on Friday passed a resolution against India, condemning its false claim of holding “surgical strikes” in Pakistan as well as killing some Pakistan Army officers during the misconstrued activity.

The resolution was unanimously tabled from the treasury as well as opposition benches and around all the parties sitting in the House were part of it to show their solidarity and unity on the issue of Kashmir, an uncompleted agenda since the division of the sub-continent.

It is pertinent to mention that although the opposition parties were also signatories to the said resolution, but they remained absent when Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah moved it in the House.

Anyhow, it was stated in the resolution that the House of representatives of Punjab strongly condemned the Indian oppression in Kashmir. It assured continuous support for Kashmiris in their freedom struggle against India.

The resolution termed the Indian claim of holding “surgical strikes” in Pakistan as false and fabricated. “India cannot dare to hold any military action against Pakistan in the presence of Pakistan Army, one of the best army in the world,” it was stated in the resolution.

The resolution saluted the courage of Pakistan Army and lauded its role in ensuring peace and stability in the country, especially through the Operation Zarb-e-Azb.

The resolution also condemned the Indian aggression along Line of Control and urged the United Nation to implement its resolutions on the dispute of Kashmir and resolve the matter by giving the Kashmiris their due right to self-determination.

The joint resolution stated that India was trying to foil the freedom movement of Kashmiris by using pellet guns on activists, but the sacrifice of Burhan Wani would not be ruined as such sacrifice has given a new life to their struggle.

Punjab Assembly’s 24th session on Friday started two hours and 45 minutes late to its schedule under the chair of Speaker Rana Iqbal. Parliamentary health secretary answered the queries about his department during the Question Hour.

Later, all four opposition parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and Jamat-e-Islami Pakistan (JIP) held a protest against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for not probing into the matter of Panama leaks and the overall bad governance of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, following the chief justice of Pakistan’s recent observation of the Orange Line Metro Train case.

Earlier, Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, on a point of order, said that the remarks of the CJP should be considered as a ‘charge sheet’ against the government in which he has also stated that there was kingship system in the country under the guise of democracy.

Giving reference of the Cyril Almeida story, the opposition leader said that it was a conspiracy by the government side to defame Pak Army among the masses. He said that PM Nawaz Sharif could not save himself from accountability in the Panama leaks issue, adding that the joint opposition would continue its protest on the matter.

Immediately after the opposition leader’s speech, all the legislators from opposition benches including PPP’s parliamentary leader Qazi Ahmad Saeed, JIP’s parliamentary leader Dr Waseem Akhtar and PML’s Amir Sultan Cheema along with their other colleagues stood on their benches and chanted slogans against Nawaz Sharif and his government, while some of the female treasury legislators reciprocated with slogans against Imran Khan.

Interestingly, when the opposition was protesting in the House, call to prayer (Azaan) started, giving the speaker an opportunity to avoid the hue and cry, and announced a 20-minute break. Later, the opposition did not join the session and the law minister moved the abovementioned resolution in the House.