LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar said on Wednesday that his objections to “the Punjab Assembly Privilege Bill” were neither to please anyone nor does he take dictation from anyone; the power of prosecution should be vested in the judges only.
“Speaker Punjab Assembly, Pervaiz Elahi, is PTI ally and we have two more years to work together,” the governor said this while talking to the media on the occasion of first Digital Health Conference here on Wednesday.
Responding to a question, he said the government is taking all decisions in national interest rather than in the interest of USA or any other country. “Pakistan has been playing historic role in the Afghan peace process since day one and wars are not solution to any problem, the whole world witnessed that the United States had been failed in Afghanistan for 18 years, so negotiations were the only solution,” he said.
Referring to the Privilege Bill passed by the Punjab Assembly, the governor stated that the Punjab Assembly had re-passed the Privilege Bill so he could not object to it. No one should have the power to punish anyone except courts and reservations of Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will be sorted out, he said. He said he would not further comment on it as he doesn’t want to say anything that would make matter worse with the allies.
The governor said that future of digital health is very bright and Pakistan’s Digital Health Conference in Lahore is a welcome step. He hoped that this conference would also help in health policy and reforms. He said the government is taking practical steps to develop the health sector, adding that free health facilities are being provided to the deserving people through Health Insaf Cards in the whole country including Punjab province.
Stressing on the benefits of modern technology, he said that during Covid-19, the helpline provided healthcare to millions of people at home.
Moreover, provincial Minister for Local Government and Community Development Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed called on Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Parvez Elahi at his residence here and held detailed consultations regarding the Local Bodies elections in the province.
Elahi said the Local Bodies Advisory Committee is comprised of Federal Ministers Tariq Bashir Cheema, Moonis Elahi, Pervez Khattak, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umar. He said he had suggested to Federal Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema that Provincial Minister for Local Bodies Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed should also be included in this committee as a member so that the steps taken regarding local bodies could be expedited speedily.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021