No MPA’s membership suspended: Punjab Assembly spokesman

Speculation about barring opposition lawmakers from voting rile PML-N

LAHORE:

Rumours that Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had suspended some PML-N MPAs after an inquiry over damaging furniture on April 3 prompted a refutation of the impression from the house's spokesperson.

"No member from any political party was suspended and these rumours have nothing to do with the reality,” the spokesperson said.

April 3 was the voting day for the chief minister’s slot but Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari adjourned the session till April 16 after a scuffle between women lawmakers from the PTI and PML-N.

After the announcement, PML-N members staged a protest in the assembly's sitting area till the Iftar time.

The following day, Speaker Elahi released a video clip wherein the furniture of the sitting area was damaged and table glasses broken.

The speaker ordered an inquiry into the incident. Citing the CCTV footage, PTI leaders held PML-N members responsible for the incident.

Since the announcement regarding the inquiry, there have been rumours that the PTI government might cash in on the incident by suspending the membership of some PML-N MPAs during the election of the new CM.

Opposition candidate Hamza Shehbaz Sharif contended that his supporters had not damaged anything in the assembly.

However, media reports spread on Wednesday that some MPAs would be restrained from entering the assembly for the voting.

PML-N lawmaker Khalil Tahir Sundhu said after the reports that an order of the Lahore High Court was clear that no member could either be suspended them or barred from entering the assembly.

He said the LHC had allowed every member to participate in the CM’s election and the authorities concerned had been directed not to deprive anyone of the right to vote.

Other MPAs alleged that Pervaiz Elahi was sensing his defeat but the PML-N members could not be stopped from entering the assembly.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2022.