Members of the Punjab Assembly from the ruling coalition criticised the police on Tuesday over their failure to maintain law and order.

Accusing elements in the force of protecting criminals, they called for making Punjab an ammunition-free province and devising a mechanism for curbing objectionable content on social media, which they said was causing a rapid increase in negative trends.

During a discussion in the assembly, Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan expressed his gloom over murders related to petty issues reported from across the province.

He said the need of the hour was to rid the province of weapons for maintaining law and order and to curb intolerance in the society.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members Iftikhar Hussain Chachar alleged that the police protected the killers rather than bringing them to the book. He said murderers involved in an incident in the Khudiyan area were roaming freely but the local police officials had not bothered to arrest them.

PML-N’s Pir Ashraf Rasool said it appeared that a member of the provincial assembly had no authority in front of a constable. He alleged that the police had become a political party. He also expressed apprehensions regarding factionalism in the department.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) legislator Neelum Jabar expressed concern over what she termed a rapid increase in objectionable content and incidents of rape, child sexual abuse and harassment in the province, calling for sincere efforts to improve the situation. In a resolution that was unanimously approved by the assembly, she called for concrete measures for curbing the trend in the society.

The authorities were given the last opportunity to submit their replies regarding issues raised by Opposition Leader Ahmad Khan Bhachar and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s (IPP) MPA Shoaib Sidiqi.

Bhachar had pointed out an increase in cancer cases, demanding the provision of proper medical facilities to the patents in hospitals.

Siddiqi had demanded a five-star hotel at Gaddafi Stadium for avoiding traffic jams on roads.

Provincial Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir assured the house that the employees of the health and population departments would be paid salaries before Eid.

Opposition Leader Bhachar accused the government of doing nothing for 200,000 health workers who, he said, were protesting on the roads.

He said tall claims were being made while no results were found on the ground.

Imran Nazir said the best health facilities were being provided to the patients and over five million people had benefited from mobile health clinics and clinics on wheels.

He vowed that no one would be rendered unemployed through the privatisation of hospitals.

The house proceedings were adjourned till Thursday.

Meanwhile, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan visited the Child Protection Bureau to unveil a newly established sports complex. He also inaugurated the annual sports day that featured various activities for the children residing at the bureau.

The speaker also mentioned the establishment of the Child Rights Caucus in Punjab Assembly for contributing to effective policy-making for children’s welfare.