The standoff between the Punjab government and the opposition over the suspension of 26 Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) MPAs appear to be resolved as both sides reached a negotiated solution and paved the way for the withdrawal of disqualification references filed against opposition laws.
According to Express newsPunjab assembly speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has decided to drop the references presented to the Election Commission in Pakistan (ECP) against the 26 suspended MPAs.
On the speaker’s instructions, assembly officials have prepared a draft order that suspends the government’s applications, which will formally be issued after the speaker’s return from abroad.
The references were originally filed by the Ministry of Finance’s lawmakers, including Ahmad Iqbal, Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman and Iftikhar Ahmed Chhachhar, who accused the opposition members of mismatch during a recent assembly session.
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The controversy stems from an incident on June 27, when 26 members of PTI were suspended from the assembly to create a “disturbance, Ruckus and sing unseemly slogans” under Punjab chief minister Maryam Nawaz. The action was taken in accordance with Rule 210 (2). 3 of the rules of the procedure for the Punjab Assembly, 1997.
Despite receiving disqualification requests from the Treasury benches, Khan gave the suspended MPAs an opportunity to present their case under Article 10-A in the Constitution that guarantees the right to a fair consultation. The consultation took place in the speaker’s chamber at the Punjab assembly.
Then a negotiating committee was formed that included members of PML-N, its allied parties, and PTI was formed to resolve the model.
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The committee met three times with the last meeting held on Thursday. While no formal message was made after previous rounds, both sides described the conversations as productive.
Sources indicated that the speaker’s final decision would determine the time of MPAS ‘restoration. However, the opposition has maintained that it will reside all assembly cases until the suspended legislators are officially reintroduced.
In a speech with journalists, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs confirmed Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman that progress had been made, saying that both the government and the opposition were agreed on a set of conditions.
