LAHORE – A day after rejecting the PML-Q’s move to table a pro-media resolution, N-League on Tuesday at the inquorate House of the Punjab Assembly violated the Constitution of Pakistan and the rules of procedure to pass a fill-in-the-blank and vague resolution, which depicted thorough indifference to the journalists’ demands and did not portray whether it was in favour of media, lawyers, social activists or political workers.

Since it is totally divorced from the mediamen’s aspirations, journalists’ representatives deem that ‘in-favour-of-media resolution’ by the assembly was like adding insult to injury since they had been protesting against the MPAs’ attitude and demanding immediate unconditional withdrawal of the resolution, apology and expunging of members’ speeches.
The parliamentarians had spewed venom for two days against media stigmatising them as blackmailers, thieves and corrupt – ‘They are the blackmailers of no degree and are a threat to democracy’. But the Punjab Assembly neither expunged objectionable remarks nor condemned the Friday’s resolution.
Tuesday’s resolution was moved after a lot of intra-assembly consultation with Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan and a few other MPAs in attendance.
On the other hand, the resolution was presented in an inquorate House, which was pointed out by Opposition’s Aamir Sultan Cheema, but the Speaker did not oblige him despite the fact that as per rule, when quorum has been pointed out, the speaker should not pursue the proceedings. When the Law minister was reading out the resolution, former provincial minister for Irrigation Cheema’s attempt to point the quorum did not get Rana Iqbal’s attention since he ‘thought’ that it was complete and hence continued with the proceedings. On this, Cheema approached speaker’s rostrum, snatched the copy of resolution from his hands and tore it into pieces. In the meantime, PPP’s Sajida Mir intervened and sent Cheema back to his seat. Upon this, Rana Iqbal banned entry of Cheema to the House for 15 days, but in defiance of the orders, he kept sitting in the House, perhaps waiting to see if the Chair would call “sergeant-at-arm” to get him out forcibly. But perhaps to his dismay, Rana did not resort to such an extreme measure.

Courtesy by nation.com.pk