PA negotiations falter over written assurance

The government's insistence on a written commitment from the opposition to adhere to several conditions regarding the conduct of Punjab Assembly members threatens to push the negotiations between both sides towards a deadlock.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the demand had not been discussed amongst PTI lawmakers at length owing to their engagements in a recently launched movement. A decision on the matter will be taken in a parliamentary party meeting in the coming days.

However, the sources said majority of the PTI members were averse to making the written commitment to the negotiation committee constituted to resolve the matter of suspension and looming references against 26 PTI MPAs over disruption of a speech of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

The government negotiation committee had placed the conditions, including avoiding foul language and sloganeering, violation of human rights, and assuring strict implementation of Rule 223 of the Rules of Procedure of The Provincial Assembly of The Punjab 1997 before the opposition members with a demand for a written commitment.

The sources said the opposition appeared inclined to trying to persuade the committee not to seek the written assurance. They said the opposition members believed that the move was aimed at ensuring complete silence during the speeches of the chief minister, which they were averse to promising.

The opposition is likely to question the need to reiterate in writing what was already written in the assembly rules.

However, Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has stressed that the opposition would have to submit the written assurance because it had earlier back paddled from its commitments.

The sources said that if the opposition would agree to not interrupt anyone's speech, it would not submit a written assurance in this regard.