100 MPAs to attend PA session daily.

Byline: Amjad Mahmood

LAHORE -- The Business Advisory Committee of the Punjab Assembly at a huddle here on Monday decided to hold a session of the house in the light of the safety measures suggested by the opposition to become the first elected house of the country meeting during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chaired by Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari, the meeting was attended by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Muhammad Basharat Raja, MPAs Malik Nadeem Kamran, Samiullah Khan, Tahir Khalil Sandhu, Ali Raza Gilani, Ali Abbas Shah and Zeshan Rafiq, Assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti and Parliamentary Affairs Director-General Inayatullah Lak.

The participants agreed to the proposal that only 100 out of 371 members of the house would attend proceedings on each day of the four-day session starting from Friday (May 8). Under the formula, the treasury side will comprise 52 lawmakers, while the opposition side will be represented by 48 members daily so that no constituency goes unrepresented.

Parliamentary leaders of all the parties will give day-wise lists of their respective MPAs attending the session on Tuesday (today).

None other than those nominated in the lists will be allowed to join the proceedings, while no member will bring his staff and/or guests with him/her to the building. Each minister may bring but just one member of his/her personal staff with him/her.

Only the minister concerned will be present in the house at a given time for answering questions or responding to adjournment and privilege motions.

It was suggested that all lawmakers will get themselves tested for novel coronavirus, while all those attending the session and assembly staff would sport face masks and gloves and would pass through the sanitiser gate to be installed at the entrance of the assembly building, while...