A number of legislators in the Punjab Assembly were busy on Monday, discussing the whereabouts of the Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, some of them even felt that his 'mysterious' absence had plunged the province into constitutional crisis. Living up to its tradition, the Punjab Assembly started almost two hours late and at the outset it was bomb shelled by a legislator Haider Noor Khan Niazi of MMA that the Punjab Governor was missing from the country without an official intimation.
On a point of order, he narrated a report broadcast by a private news channel that the Governor is in Dubai. What can one say about Niazi's acumen; he misled the House on an unconfirmed report and in the process created commotion in the House. In fact, it was astonishing to see the highest pedestal of the province becoming a den of rumourmongers. Later, it was learnt that Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was in the country and was on a private visit to Sukkur. Today the Punjab Assembly truly fits the words of a late 19th century English journalist Walter Bagehot, 'a parliament is nothing less than a big meeting of more or less idle people'.
Niazi did not stop there from showing his great acumen; he observed that since Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal has assumed the role of Acting Governor in the absence of the Punjab Governor, he no longer can chair the House's proceeding. This also prompted Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah to confirm the rumours and said that according to his information the Punjab Governor is on a secret mission to Dubai. As it was known later that Salmaan Taseer was in Sukkur, how the did the Law Minister come to know about his (Salmaan Taseer) secret mission is another mystery. He also said their initial investigation pointed to Hyderabad, however when he contacted the DCO Hyderabad, he denied any knowledge of the Punjab Governor's presence in that district.
Apparently, Speaker Rana Iqbal also saw a brewing of a constitutional crisis in the province and hence he adjourned the House for 15 minutes after directing the Law Minister to investigate the matter.
The mystery of Punjab Governor further deepened when Deputy Speaker Rana Mashud took over the House after the recess, which gave an implicit message that Rana Iqbal has assumed the charge of Acting Governor. Seeing some raising eyebrows among the legislators, Rana Mashud told the House that he was still a Deputy Speaker and not Acting Speaker; meaning that Rana Iqbal was still the Speaker of the House.
The Law Minister demanded more time (one hour) to investigate the matter. A government that claims to be competent and wise, shows ignorance on the whereabouts its constitutional head, puts a big question mark on its functioning. How could a government lose its Governor?
It was indeed a theoretical performance put by some parliamentarians. An opposition bencher also joined in and suspected the Law Minister behind the 'missing governor' episode. Samina Khawar Hyat pointed out that both the Punjab Governor and Law Minister were at daggers drawn, and hence they should consider filing an FIR for abduction.
Even some members of the treasury benches showed serious concern on the issue and strongly believed that this will lead to constitutional crisis. They went on to say that if the Governor was really missing then this is due to the government's negligence. They stressed for filing of an FIR in the Civil Line Police Station.
Meanwhile, in the whole episode, the PPP remained on the back foot. However, Punjab Senior Minister Raja Riaz did object to the words used by Niazi for the Punjab Governor and requested the Speaker to expunge the remarks, which was admitted. Raja Riaz also questioned validity of the rumour. He said give time and let the matter be investigated, and there is no need to create storm in a teacup.
The House was eagerly waiting for the update from the Law Minister when he (Rana Sanullah) made another astonishing revelation. He said as per their information, the Governor was in Dubai an hour ago and now he is returning to Pakistan, and he will be landing any minute. How would the Law Minister respond to the surfacing of the Punjab Governor in Sukkur, is a big question.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker distanced himself from the missing 'governor issue' and focused on legislation. The Law Minister tabled the Punjab Industrial Relations Bill 2010, which was passed by the House with majority. The treasury benches adopted two out of 12 amendments proposed by the opposition benches. However, Mohisn Leghari (of PML-Q)'s request for circulating the bill for eliciting opinion was rejected by the treasury benches. The new bill has replaced Punjab Industrial Relations Ordinance 2010, which was about to lapse on December 10. The House also took up answer-question session on sport department and adjournment motions. Without clearing self-created constitutional crisis, the Deputy Speaker prorogued the House.
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