Ruckus in Punjab Assembly: Three opposition MPAs suspended

LAHORE: A ruckus was triggered in Punjab Assembly on Friday as the opposition protested against a report on the Local Government Bill, which was approved by the assembly’s Standing Committee on Local Government a day ago.

Opposition members staged a walkout after raising objections over various points in the report, which were defended by the law minister.

The opposition also raised anti-government slogans and engaging in a war of words with the deputy speaker, who suspended the membership of three Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders.

The suspended MPAs included Pir Ashraf Rasool, Uzma Bukhari and Mian Abdul Rauf.

MPA Pir Ashraf Rasool was suspended during the presentation of the bill, whereas the membership of the other two leaders was suspended after the deputy speaker replayed a video of the incident.

Punjab law minister Basharat Raja, commenting on the ruckus, lamented that consensus between PML-N and the government was difficult as the opposition party wanted to have its way.

He further said that the government had tried to bring the opposition on board.