Punjab speaker to send ECP reference against suspended PTI MPAs

Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan on Saturday announced that a formal reference is being sent to the ECP against 26 suspended opposition members of the Assembly for disrupting proceedings and violating House rules.

The suspended lawmakers, all affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were barred from attending 15 sittings after engaging in loud sloganeering, tearing official documents, and what the Speaker described as “unparliamentary and disruptive behaviour” during Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s address in the House on Friday.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Speaker Malik Ahmad defended the disciplinary action, saying, “This House must be run according to the Constitution. No one has the right to abuse or attack fellow members. If someone damages the sanctity of this House, it will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”

Read here: 26 opposition MPAs suspended for protesting against CM Maryam

He added, “Whatever was shouted yesterday—whatever slogans were raised—can anyone do that in their own house? The Assembly is not anyone’s personal drawing room. It is a constitutional institution, and its dignity must be preserved.”

Referring to past precedents, the speaker compared his actions with those of former speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, stating that under Elahi’s tenure, FIRs were filed against 40 members and not a single standing committee functioned in five years. “I am the Speaker who issued production orders. They call hooliganism their political right, but I call it a violation of the Constitution,” he asserted.

The speaker also claimed that the opposition has had “zero input in any law” and accused PTI lawmakers of disregarding legislative decorum. “There is no electoral excuse for ninety-five percent of the sitting opposition members,” he said.

He criticised the tendency to malign the judiciary, stating, “If the judge is not to your liking, you abuse him. This House was once called honourable. That respect must be restored.”

He further revealed that the reference against the 26 suspended members would be sent “in light of the precedent set in the case involving former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial,” and added that recovery notices would be issued to those who damaged Assembly property.

“The system cannot be allowed to be held hostage. If they don't follow the Constitution, I will. This is our House, and I will not allow its sanctity to be compromised,” he said.

Speaker Malik Ahmad also acknowledged that CM Maryam Nawaz had told him that the opposition had the right to protest. “Yes, protest is a democratic right, but not at the cost of violating Assembly rules,” he added, while praising the Chief Minister’s recent speech as “excellent and composed.”

Concluding his remarks, the speaker said, “I have held bigger rallies than them in my constituency. This is not about numbers, it’s about values. I will continue to fight for the sanctity of this Assembly and the Constitution.”

The suspended members include Malik Fahad Masood, Muhammad Tanveer Aslam, Syed Rafat Mahmood, Yasir Mahmood Qureshi, Saima Kanwal, and several others. Their suspension prohibits them from participating in sessions or Assembly committees during the suspension period.