Punjab PA passes seven bills

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Thursday passed seven bills while the session was marked by a tragic account of a sanitary worker’s death, sharp criticism of the province’s healthcare system, and a unanimous resolution honouring a martyred army captain. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman presented six bills, all of which were passed, while Parliamentary Secretary Khalid Mahmood Ranjha separately presented the Waqf Trusts and Cooperative Societies (Monitoring) Punjab Bill 2026, which was also adopted by the House. Opposition member Ahmad Iqbal Chaudhry brought a deeply distressing incident to the assembly’s attention, revealing that two Christian sanitary workers, Bashir Masih and Saud Masih, had entered a sewer in Faisalabad without protective equipment, resulting in the death of one worker due to toxic gas exposure. The Speaker expressed profound grief and demanded a thorough investigation. Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir announced the recruitment of three thousand doctors across Punjab who would not be subject to transfer, while a Key Performance Indicator system would be introduced to evaluate their performance annually. However, opposition members Zarnab Shehr and Shazia Abid criticised the minister over medicine shortages in government hospitals and the absence of his department’s secretary during the session. The minister also acknowledged a severe shortage of burn specialists across the province and pledged to address the gap. The assembly unanimously adopted a resolution honouring Captain Fayyaz Ilyas Shaheed, martyred alongside six soldiers in a terrorist attack, and demanded that his native village of Raye Kalan in Kasur be renamed in his honour. The session was adjourned until Monday after the government failed to complete the required quorum. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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