PUNJAB ASSEMBLY DECISIONS 2000 — 2014 Punjab Assembly Decisions 2000-2014 Mace - a symbol of authority of the House and the Speaker Mace Punjab Assembly Decisions 2000-2014 PUNJAB ASSEMBLY DECISIONS 2000 — 2014 PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PUNJAB Punjab Assembly Decisions 2000-2014 All rights reserved. No part of this book be produced in any form by any electronic and mechanical means or in any shape without prior permission from the publisher. Punjab Assembly Decisions (2000—2014) 2015 Composed by: MUHAMMAD SHAHID EHSAN GHOURY Personal Assistant Published by the Punjab Assembly Secretariat Lahore Phone No.92-42-99200335-46 Fax No.92-42-99200330 e-mail: [email protected] Web:http:///www.pap.gov.pk Printed at: Nisar Art Press (Pvt) Ltd. 9-Industrial Area, Gulberg-III, Lahore. Ph: 042 3 5751385-87 - Fax: 042 3 5710 707 Web: www.nisarartpress.com.pk Email: [email protected] Contents CONTENTS Editorial Board ....................................................................................ix Message ..............................................................................................xi Preface...............................................................................................xiii Introduction ........................................................................................xv Provincial Assemblies and Functionaries ..................................xxiii 1. ADJOURNMENT MOTION-REPLY ................................................3 2. ANSWER TO QUESTIONS ............................................................9 3. ATTENDANCE OF MEMBERS ....................................................11 4. BAR AGAINST DOUBLE MEMBERSHIP .....................................13 5. BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ..........................................15 6. COMMITTEE MEETING ...............................................................21 7. DECORUM OF THE HOUSE .......................................................22 8. DEROGATORY REMARKS ..........................................................26 9. DISCUSSION ON MOTIONS FOR EXTENSION OF TIME .........28 10. HEAD OF PARLIAMENTARY PARTY ..........................................30 11. LOCAL BODIES ELECTIONS ......................................................35 12. ORDINANCE - PROMULGATION ...............................................36 13. POINT OF ORDER ......................................................................39 14. PRIVILEGES OF MPAs ................................................................43 15. SPEAKING FROM THE GALLERIES ...........................................45 16. SUMMONING OF SESSION ........................................................46 17. SUMMONING OF THE SESSION ................................................47 18. TIME LIMIT ON SPEECH OF LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION ..49 19. WITHDRAWAL OF MEMBER .......................................................53 Index ...................................................................................................59 Editorial Board EDITORIAL BOARD Patron RAI MUMTAZ HUSSAIN BABAR Master in Public Administration Senior Secretary Senior Editor INAYAT ULLAH LAK M.A. (Library Science), M.A. (History), M.A. (Pol Sc), LL.B. Director General (Parliamentary Affairs & Research) Editor MUHABBAT SHUJA RANA M.A. (Political Science), LL.B. Senior Research Officer ix Message MESSAGE A judge is supposed to show qualities of patience, open-mindedness, courtesy, tact, firmness, understanding, compassion and humility. He should be able to deal with people calmly and courteously and should be willing to hear and consider the views of all sides of a case. A good judge needs to be even-tempered, yet firm; open- minded, yet willing and able to reach a decision; confident, yet not self-centered. The same is true about Speaker who has to assume the role of a judge occasionally. As the arbiter of the law, the Speaker is charged with ensuring the people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution. A Speaker has the same authority of constitutional interpretation and none have exercised it for as long or with as much influence. The Constitution of Pakistan is a carefully balanced document. It is designed to provide for an outline for various spheres of the national needs, yet, at the same time, it requires interpretation at times. While the function of judicial review is not explicitly provided in the Constitution, it had been anticipated before the adoption of that document. In retrospect, it is evident that constitutional interpretation and application were made necessary by the very nature of the Constitution. The Founding Fathers had wisely worded that document in rather general terms leaving it open to future elaboration to meet changing conditions. In this context, the role of the Speaker becomes more challenging. xi Punjab Assembly Decisions 2000-2014 All the Presiding Officers, including myself, have tried to accomplish the cherished goal visualized by the Founder of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and have always strived to justify the confidence reposed in them by the House. This compilation is a living example of this claim. RANA MUHAMMAD IQBAL KHAN Speaker Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Lahore June 2015 xii Preface PREFACE The office of the Speaker is the highest and most important in the House. The Speaker occupies the foremost place and commands respect internally from among parliamentarians and also externally from the public in general. The Speaker is the Presiding Officer of Parliament and as such must act with both authority and impartiality. As Presiding Officer, the Speaker chairs the sittings of the House and ensures these are conducted in an orderly manner and according to the provisions of the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the House. The Speaker maintains order, puts questions after debate and conducts divisions (voting in the House). The Speaker must ensure that the rules of parliamentary procedure as embodied in the Rules of Procedure and practice of the House are applied. The Speaker interprets and applies the rules, responds to Members’ points of order relating to them and gives rulings on procedure when necessary. For example, the Speaker is often called upon to decide whether remarks made in a speech are offensive, whether a Member’s speech is relevant to the motion being debated or whether a particular motion or amendment is allowed to be moved at a certain time. The Speaker calls upon Members wishing to speak and in doing so seeks to allocate the call evenly between the government and non-government Members and, despite the greater responsibilities of Ministers and opposition frontbenchers, to ensure that xiii Punjab Assembly Decisions 2000-2014 backbenchers are not overlooked. An important part of the Speaker’s task is to protect the rights of individuals and minorities in the House and make sure that everyone is treated fairly within the framework set by the rules. Notwithstanding the fact that the Speakership in Pakistan has long been regarded as a political appointment, successive Speakers have striven to discharge their duties with impartiality. As a rule, Speakers have been sufficiently detached from government activity to ensure what can be justly claimed to be a high degree of impartiality in the Chair. In conducting the business of the House, the Speaker interprets and applies the laws and rules along side practice of the House by making rulings and decisions. By custom, the Speaker does not participate in debates; he speaks through his judgments popularly known as rulings. This compilation contains rulings of the Chair announced by the Presiding Officers during the period 2002 to 2014. RAI MUMTAZ HUSSAIN BABAR Senior Secretary Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Lahore June 2015 xiv Introduction INTRODUCTION The book in your hand is a sequel to the book “Punjab Assembly Decisions 1947-1999”, published by the Punjab Assembly Secretariat in the year 2001 which contained decisions of the Chair (Speakers, Deputy Speakers, Presiding Officers, etc) of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab during the period from 1947 to 1999. More or less, the same pattern has been followed in the present compilation. The previous compilation contained a brief constitutional history of Pakistan from 1947 till 1999. Since then, the Constitution of Pakistan has undergone a lot of significant changes; a brief reflection, thereof, is given in the subsequent paragraphs. CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) After the takeover of power by the military on October 12, 1999, the country began to experience the unfolding of a blueprint developed by the earlier military regimes. A Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) was issued on October 14, 1999;1 the Constitution was held in abeyance and the Assemblies were placed under suspension w.e.f. October 12, 1999. The PCO provided for a temporary governing framework. In January 2000, when the Supreme Court entertained a challenge to the military coup, the judges of the superior courts were 1 See Cabinet Division Notification No.2-10/99-Min.1, dated 14 October 1999, published the same day in the Gazette of Pakistan (Extraordinary), pp.1265-66. xv Punjab Assembly Decisions 2000-2014 compelled to take a new oath of office pledging to serve under the PCO. A reconstituted Supreme Court decided the case of Zafar Ali Shah v General Pervez Musharraf (PLD 2000 SC 869) 2000 and validated the coup on the grounds of the doctrine of