LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday approved three significant legislative bills during its session. The assembly passed the Panjnad University Bill 2025, the Nexis University Sialkot (Amendment) Bill 2025, and the Ali Bin Usman Institute Multan Bill 2025. Additionally, three other bills were presented before the house and subsequently referred to the relevant committees for detailed consideration. These included the Punjab Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) (Amendment) Bill 2025, the Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2025, and the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (Amendment) Bill 2025. In a significant development, the Punjab Assembly approved a resolution to hold a comprehensive debate on the pressing issue of farmers not receiving fair prices for their agricultural produce. Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan announced that the next day’s session would be exclusively dedicated to addressing this critical matter. Speaker Khan emphasized that the discussion would focus specifically on examining why farmers are being denied proper prices for their corn, wheat, potatoes, rice, and sugarcane crops. He announced that the official responsible for price control would be summoned to attend the session. According to the Speaker, the upcoming session would have only one agenda item, with all discussions centered solely on this crucial agricultural pricing issue. Meanwhile, Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari launched a strong rebuke against the opposition leader for characterizing the entire media as “Paid Media,” describing his statement as indicative of a distorted mindset. In a show of support for journalists, Minister Bokhari staged a walkout from the Punjab Assembly and declared her intention to initiate legal proceedings under the Defamation Act against the opposition leader for what she termed as baseless allegations. Addressing the false accusations levelled against her, Azma Bokhari stated that the opposition leader had claimed she sent “paid journalists” and that he must now substantiate these allegations in court. She confirmed that she was pursuing legal action under the Defamation Act and that notices were being issued. The minister asserted that it was time to hold lies and propaganda accountable through legal channels. In her remarks to journalists outside the Punjab Assembly, Azma Bokhari also condemned what she described as the opposition’s attempt to exploit ethnic identity for political purposes. She specifically criticized the inappropriate use of Pashtun identity as a shield to play the ethnic card. The minister clarified that the issue at hand concerned behaviour rather than nationality, emphasizing that the Pashtun community in Pakistan is widely respected. However, she stated that associating misbehaviour with an entire ethnic group for political gains was completely unacceptable. The day’s proceedings began with a significant delay, as the Punjab Assembly session commenced two hours and twenty-five minutes behind schedule under the chairmanship of Panel of Chairpersons member Samiullah Khan. Following this delayed start, Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan took over the Speaker’s chair and addressed the house regarding procedural matters. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025