PML-N stages walkout over thrashing of MPA by police

House proceeding lasted only about 40 minutes due to MPAs’ uproar

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) lawmakers walked out the house proceedings over thrashing of one of their MPA at district courts by police while treasury termed the incident as having “the taste of their own medicine”.

At one stage the opposition legislators and Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari seemed to be on one page on restraining police from humiliating male MPAs and harassing women lawmakers of the opposition when they visit courts to meet their leaders and colleagues.

The house proceeding lasted only about 40 minutes but neither the question-answer session nor the government business could be taken up properly. After the first 10 minutes of recitation of Quran and Naat, the rest of the time was taken by the PML-N’s MPAs in lamenting what they called ‘maltreatment of lawmakers’.

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As the house proceedings kicked off, PML-N’s Khawaja Salman Rafique, on a point of order, expressed his gloom saying “we are requesting for justice and not for any favour” adding their colleagues were harassed and thrashed by police which was condemnable. He said PML-N’s Toufeeq Butt was badly thrashed by the police officials when he reached the district court on Friday to attend Khawja Saad Rafique’s case proceedings.

MPA Toufeeq Butt said he met SP Syed Iqrar Shah and showed his card but he was thrashed by 40 police officials on the directives of the SP. He also warned that if the things do no change, he along with his party members would be there in courts rather than coming to the assembly.

MPA Hina Pervez Butt also expressed her displeasure over the conduct of the police officials claiming concrete measures be taken by the government to avoid the recurrence of such an incident.

Responding the opposition, Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja said he was at a loss to understand how police could thrash a man who goes to the court proceedings without violating any law. At which the opposition started creating uproar but the deputy speaker intervened. However, Raja assured the house to summon the police high-ups to get the issue resolved.

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Minister for Public Prosecution Chaudhry Zaheeruddin remarked that the opposition should have the taste its own medicine, adding the PML-N was receiving back the same what it had done in past. He said there was space for only 30 people in the courtroom but the PML-N’s MPAs along with their workers assembled there at which the administration took action.

“They (PML-N workers) wouldn’t have faced any issue, had they followed the law,” he maintained.

As Deputy Speaker Mazari moved to the next agenda item, the PML-N legislators stood up and walked out the house proceedings and then pointed out quorum, to which the government failed to show up the required number, as a result of which Mazari had to prorogue the session for an indefinite period.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2019.