From Abid Usman
LAHORE: The proceedings to de-seat 26 opposition members of the Punjab Assembly, who were earlier suspended for causing uproar and pandemonium in the house, have formally started.
Sources said the speaker office has started consultation with provincial law department. “The legal as well as constitutional points are being deliberated on annulling the membership of suspended members of the assembly.“
In this regard, the speaker office is also considering taking cue from the verdicts of court. In this proceeding, the decision of former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial is also being considered which was against the party line.
Earlier, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan suspended 26 members of the assembly for 15 sessions over serious violations of parliamentary rules.
The suspended lawmakers, mostly from the opposition, had been accused of disorderly behavior in the house, including tearing agenda papers, chanting slogans, and disrupting proceedings. The action was taken under Rule 210 of the assembly regulations.
The Speaker emphasised that the sanctity and order of the house must be upheld at all costs.
He noted that Rules 223 and 210 were breached and warned that strict measures are necessary to maintain discipline.
The suspended lawmakers included Malik Fahad Masood, Muhammad Tanveer Aslam, Syed Riffat Mehmood, Yasir Mehmood Qureshi, Kaleemullah Khan, Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, Ali Asif, Zulfiqar Ali, Ahmad Mujtaba Chaudhry, Shahid Javed, Muhammad Ismail, Khayal Ahmad, Shahbaz Ahmad, Tayyab Rasheed, Imtiaz Mehmood, Ali Imtiaz, Rashid Tufail, Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal, Khalid Zubair Nisar, Chaudhry Muhammad Ijaz Shafi, Eman Kanwal, Muhammad Naeem, Sajjad Ahmad, Rana Aurangzeb, Shahbaz Amir, and Usama Asghar Ali Gujar.
Earlier, The Peshawar High Court has issued a stay order, temporarily barring newly selected members on reserved seats from taking oath in the provincial assembly. A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr. Khurshid Iqbal heard the petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P) challenging the allocation of reserved seats.
The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Sultan Muhammad Khan, argued that the Election Commission miscalculated the allocation of reserved seats, stating that PTI-P, which held two general seats in the provincial assembly, was wrongfully granted only one women’s reserved seat.
When questioned by the bench, the lawyer confirmed that PTI-P had submitted its priority list for the reserved seats. He further maintained that PTI-P was entitled to two women’s seats and one minority seat. The petitioner requested that the oath-taking of members on these disputed reserved seats be halted.
In response, the court issued notices to the Election Commission and directed that no oath be administered to the concerned members until the next hearing.
