Punjab PA budget session turns chaotic as treasury, opposition members trade barbs

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly’s budget session turned into a scene of uproar as lawmakers from the treasury and opposition benches engaged in heated shouting matches, leading to a 90-minute adjournment. The session, which began after a three-hour and 35-minute delay under Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan’s chairmanship, was marred by chaos from the outset.

The turmoil erupted when government member Bilal Yamin accused opposition member Ijaz Shafi of stealing his wristwatch. The opposition retaliated with loud protests, chanting slogans against the government, while treasury members waved watches in the air, mocking the opposition with cries of “watch thief.”

Amid the pandemonium, opposition members stormed into the assembly hall, drowning out proceedings with their chants. The Speaker struggled to restore order, stating helplessly, “What can I do? I don’t have a stick to control them. If members behave like this, how will the session proceed?”

Bilal Yamin insisted that the opposition was creating noise to avoid accountability, claiming, “They can’t digest my watch. The ‘watch thief company’ doesn’t want to return it, so they’re making a scene.”

Following the continued disorder, the Speaker adjourned the session for five minutes and called a meeting in his chamber with Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, opposition leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, and others to negotiate so that the proceedings of the House can run smoothly.

When the session resumed after one hour and fifty minutes, the uproar restarted immediately. Opposition members resumed their protests, while Bilal Yamin reiterated his accusation, prompting the Speaker to express frustration: “Even after the break, we’re back to the same issue.”

Yamin argued, “If you allow them to protest on tables or steal watches, how will the session move forward?” The Speaker retorted, “What does their protest or watch theft have to do with me? Did I tell them to protest or steal watches?”

As the shouting resumed, Bilal Yamin raised a point of order, alleging that the opposition was disrupting proceedings to avoid discussion on his father’s missing watch from the 16th. “During the ruckus, Ijaz Shafi snatched my watch. Its value isn’t monetary it holds sentimental value as it belonged to my father,” he said.

In response, Ijaz Shafi denied the allegations, calling them “false and baseless.”

He challenged, “If this is the case, then not just the Sharif family—the entire party is made of thieves. Before searching me, search the Chief Minister, who hasn’t attended the assembly all year.”

The Speaker later formed a committee to investigate the matter, but the session remained paralyzed due to the ongoing disorder. The opposition leader, during his speech, rejected the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, calling it “anti-people.”

The Punjab Assembly hall resembled a fish market as lawmakers from both sides traded accusations, leaving legislative business in disarray.

Following the earlier uproar, Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar began the general debate on the 2025-26 budget, only to be interrupted by Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan, who reminded him that reading from a prepared speech was against assembly rules—only the finance minister was permitted to do so. The Opposition Leader reluctantly accepted the restriction, stating, “Whatever restrictions you impose will be accepted.”

Launching his critique, Bhachar argued that budgets should provide relief to the poor, but the current government’s priorities were focused solely on “political victimization against PTI.” He accused the administration of being preoccupied with “tormenting PTI’s founder and Bushra Bibi while failing to spend last year’s development budget.

“This Form-47 government claims to represent the people, but even those who brought them to power are disappointed by their weak performance,” Bhachar said. He questioned the sudden increase in the development budget from Rs. 842 billion to Rs. 1,240 billion, asking, “If this government couldn’t manage Rs. 842 billion, how will it handle Rs. 1,240 billion?” He demanded transparency, insisting that details of last year’s development spending be presented before the assembly.

The Opposition Leader criticized the government’s allocation of funds, pointing out that while the education budget had increased, “no one knows where this money is being spent—visit any government school and see for yourself.”He mocked the lack of new projects in the development budget, saying, “If you’ve increased the budget, where are the new schemes? Changing a sewer lid doesn’t count as a project.”

Amid continuous heckling from treasury members, Bhachar highlighted contradictions within the government, noting that “the finance minister claims 10,604 new projects, while the chief minister says only 80.”

He ridiculed the “Rickshaw Programme,” alleging corruption in its execution: “One company quoted Rs 98,000 per rickshaw, but Metropolitan officers awarded the contract to a firm charging Rs. 149,000.”

He further mocked the construction of a Rs. 15 million bike lane that “washed away in the first rain,” sarcastically asking whether it was “a bike lane or a washing machine that needed a warranty.”

Bhachar accused the government of inflating project completion numbers, claiming “they’ve counted replacing a single sewer lid as a project.”

He also slammed the “Ramazan Nigehban Programme” as a waste of funds, alleging that “93 government employees embezzled over Rs 3 crore worth of rations meant for the poor.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025