The parliamentary committee of Punjab Assembly over COVID-19 has demanded that all the prisoners of province’s jails should be tested for Corona Virus to get the real picture of the prisons. The demand was made unanimously by the parliamentary committee as the numbers of COVID-19 patients were increased in the camp jail of Lahore in recent days. As per the details, Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi presided over the meeting of all the leaders of parliamentary parties of Punjab through video link on Thursday where this demand was made. The arrangements must be made to test all the prisoners of Punjab for COVID-19 and the staff of jails should also be tested for the virus, Punjab Assembly Speaker directed the officials who were also present on the occasion. He also directed the officials to provide the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to all the doctors who are deputed at the quarantine centers. Provincial Minister for Law Raja Bashrat briefed the committee regarding the arrangements made so far for the inmates.
Moreover, Speaker also asked all the MPAs to submit their suggestions and proposals for the upcoming budget of Punjab. The MPAs were asked to send their proposals through email to the Punjab Assembly secretariat. Speaker was of the view that the suggestions of MPAs will be sent to the Finance Department before the preparation of the budget. Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht also briefed the meeting regarding some initial points of the upcoming budget of Punjab. It is worth mentioning here that the pre-budget session of Punjab Assembly was due in March this year as the rules of business state that the pre-budget session must be held before 31st March every year but it couldn’t be held this year due to the COVID-19. The MPAs used to give their suggestions for the budget during this session for four consecutive days while demanding development schemes for their constituencies but they were deprived of this opportunity this year.
Talking to Daily Times, PML-N MPA Samiullah Khan, who is the member of parliamentary committee over COVID-19, said that we demanded the inquiry of Corona patients in all the jails of Punjab. “A prisoner who came from Italy infected other inmates at Lahore Camp Jail but how the virus spread in other prisons of Punjab,” asked MPA Samiullah Khan. He further added that the Finance Minister himself gave a charge-sheet against his own government when he presented a bleak picture of Punjab’s economy while blaming the COVID-19 for the poor economy. “The Corona came just a month or two ago but why the economy of Punjab is so bad according to the finance minister. What did they do in eight months before the COVID-19 came,” asked MPA Samiullah Khan. It is pertinent to mention here that the Speaker had earlier constituted a committee over COVID-19 consisting of parliamentary leaders. Law minister Raja Basharat, PPP Parliamentary Leader Syed Hassan Murtaza, PML-N MPAs Samiullah Khan, Sardar Awais Laghari, Kh Salman Rafique, PTI MPAs Nazir Chohan, Ameen Zulqarnain, and MPAs Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh and Maulana Muavia Azam are the members of the committee. The meeting was attended by all the members while Secretary Punjab Assembly Muhammad Khan Bhatti, DG Parliamentary Affairs Anayat Ullah Lak, Additional Chief Secretary Home Momin Agha and Secretary Finance Abdullah Khan Sumbal were also present.