Punjab Assembly Remembers APS Martyrs

The Punjab Assembly, through a unanimously adopted resolution on Friday, paid homage to the martyrs of the Army Public School (APS), Peshawar, on the fourth anniversary of the tragedy.

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Dec, 2018 ) :The Punjab Assembly, through a unanimously adopted resolution on Friday, paid homage to the martyrs of the Army Public School (APS), Peshawar, on the fourth anniversary of the tragedy.

The House condemned the terrorist attack in which 132 students and 10 staff members of the school were martyred.

The joint resolution, moved by PML-N lawmaker Hina Pervaiz Butt and a PTI member, condemned the incident and reiterated nation's resolve to continue fight against terrorism. It demanded the Federal government to declare December 16 as a national day against extremism and terrorism.

The House also adopted a resolution felicitating the federal government on its effective response to the United States over blacklisting of Pakistan for religious freedom violations.

Opposition lawmakers Azma Bokhari and Waris Kallu, speaking in the House, criticised the Donald Trump administration for maligning Pakistan with regard to minorities in Pakistan.

"Putting Pakistan on the Human Rights Watch List is a great injustice," they added. They said that minorities in Pakistan were enjoying more freedom than in India and it was beyond comprehension why Pakistan was included in the Human Rights Watch List and India was spared.

Earlier, the tenth and last sitting of the fifth session of the current assembly started an hour and 33 minutes behind schedule with Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari in the chair. As many as 69 MPAs were present at the outset of the sitting.

It is pertinent to mention here that leader of the opposition, Hamza Shehbaz, was not attending the sessions for the last nine days.

Meanwhile, Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi formed a committee for settling the issue of the Production Order of lawmakers in the House.

Provincial Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Muhammad Basharat Raja would head the committee (Production Order Committee), which would make recommendations for introducing amendments to the rules of procedure of the provincial assembly of Punjab regarding a production order of any of the lawmaker.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led opposition had asked for production order of their fellow lawmaker Khawaja Salman Rafique, who is currently in custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The House held discussion on the annual report on the status of women 2016.

Later, the chair adjourned the session sine die.