Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has sought video footage of all the gates and entry/exit points of the Parliament to fix the responsibility for arresting lawmakers from Parliament’s premises. Responding to points of order raised by various members of the House, the Speaker said he considers himself unlucky as custodian of the House when the Parliament was attacked by a political party and its cousin in the past. He assured the House that strict action will be taken, in consultation with all the political parties, to prevent such incidents in future. Taking the floor, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif said what happened yesterday was the reaction to the incidents that on Sunday. He said the language used against women, journalists as well as the unity and integrity of the country is a big challenge for the federation of Pakistan. Khawaja Asif said they will have to correct their approach so that there should be no harsh reaction.

Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain said the policy of “touch me not” will not work if you hurl abuses against women and attack state institutions.  Responding to a calling attention notice, Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain clarified that no proposal is under consideration for the closure or winding up of the Utility Stores Corporation. He said we are only talking about restructuring the organization. He said the rights of employees will be protected. Responding to another calling attention notice, Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik said the government is committed to promote Islamic banking in the country. He said new Sharia-compliant certificates worth 50 billion rupees will be launched this month. “The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) (Amendment) Bill, 2024” and “The Pakistan Environmental Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2024” were introduced in the House. The chair referred the bills to the standing committees concerned.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan