The Punjab Assembly’s budget session for 2022-23 has begun, the 24NewsHD TV channel reported Monday.

Speaker Parvez Elahi is presiding over the session. The session started more than six hours behind the schedule. The session was to be held at 2 pm but the deadlock between PTI and the PML-N over the issue of bogus cases against opposition leaders caused the delay.

The Advocate General of Punjab has been summoned to review the cases against the opposition. 

The negotiations between government and opposition bore fruit and the session starts. 

Speaker Parvez Elahi is presiding over the session.  

On Friday, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the former ruling party’s leaders at the request of Shahdara police station under charges of damaging public property, torturing police officials, and creating chaos during the party’s long march to Islamabad on May 25.

Upon issuance of warrants, former ministers Shafqat Mahmood, Hammad Azhar, Dr Yasmeen Rashid, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Ijaz Chaudhary, Zubair Niazi, Nadeem Abbas Bara and others reached the court seeking bail. Later, the ATC granted pre-arrest bail to 14 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders till June 17.

The Gulberg police and Shahdra police had registered First Information Reports (FIR) against the alleged perpetrators under different sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) including 7-ATA related to punishment for terrorist activities and violence.