'No anti-army, judiciary speeches in NA'

Speaker says live broadcast of comments against institutions banned

ISLAMABAD:

The custodian of the lower house of parliament has decided to prohibit live broadcast of speeches made against the judiciary and armed forces in the National Assembly.

"Speeches against the military and judiciary will be prohibited in the National Assembly. It is also stated in the Constitution that no remarks can be made against the judiciary or the armed forces," said National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Friday while speaking to the media.

"Speeches against the judiciary and the military will not be broadcast," he added.

Sadiq said intelligence agencies have no role in parliamentary proceedings and that no meeting is canceled based on the request of any agency.

Referring to a proposed constitutional amendment package, Sadiq said the PML-N led coalition government likely called the NA session after receiving assurances from political parties regarding the amendments.

"The government did not act without reason. Those who break their promises after committing to support the amendment package aren't just foolish—they are something else," he said.

The speaker also expressed his lack of knowledge about the constitutional amendment drafts, stating that he had neither received the draft nor requested it. He clarified that there was no final draft of the constitutional amendments, only a preliminary one. Sadiq said even PTI founder Imran Khan had signed off on the constitutional court, which is likely why the government convened the NA meeting, hoping to pass at least a couple of amendments.

He also offered to mediate between the government and the PTI to secure their support for the amendments. Sadiq said he proposed negotiations with the PTI on points they agreed with so those amendments could be passed.

When asked by a journalist whether he was aware of plans to arrest some PTI lawmakers inside the Parliament House, the speaker said, "Some people simply don't want me to sit in the speaker's chair." He added, "Some PML-N members are not happy about me becoming NA speaker for the second time."