LAHORE (Dunya News) – Acting Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Zaheer Iqbal Chanar, has reinstated 26 previously suspended opposition members of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).
During a session chaired by Chanar, Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman appealed for the reinstatement, stating that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also wishes for elected representatives to return to the Assembly to ensure proper constituency representation.
He emphasised that the presence of the opposition is vital to the vibrancy of the house, and that the Assembly feels incomplete without their participation.
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Responding to the appeal, the acting Speaker said reinstating the members would send a positive message and ordered their immediate restoration. He also directed that official notifications be issued to bring the opposition members back to the Assembly.
On June 27, PTI lawmakers disrupted the Punjab Assembly during Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s speech by chanting slogans and surrounding the speaker’s podium.
In response, Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan suspended 26 opposition members for 15 sessions and fined 10 MPAs Rs200,000 each for damaging public property. Disqualification references were also sent to the Election Commission over “unparliamentary conduct.”
However, two days earlier, the speaker rejected the disqualification pleas after successful talks with the opposition. He clarified that serious allegations must be proven in court, and warned against undermining free expression or the assembly’s constitutional role.
The 26 PTI-backed members include Malik Farhad Masood, Tanveer Aslam, Yasir Mehmood Qureshi, Ahmad Mujtaba, Shahbaz Ahmad, Saima Kanwal, Usama Asghar Gujjar, and others.
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