Disqualification row: PA speaker 'halts' action against opposition's lawmakers

• PA secretariat, govt members 'ordered' to stop proceedings.
• Speaker filed disqualification reference against 26 MPAs.
• 10 opposition lawmakers also fined for acts of vandalism.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan has paused further action against 26 suspended opposition lawmakers — 10 of whom were also fined for disorderly conduct — government sources told Geo News on Tuesday.

The PA speaker ordered the assembly's secretariat and government members to stop further proceedings against the 10 opposition lawmakers until the ongoing negotiations yield results, the sources revealed.

Earlier this month, the speaker had filed the disqualification reference with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against 26 MPAs over ruckus, sloganeering, shouting and tearing of documents in the house during the budget session.

The sources also said that the process of recovering fines and deducting their salaries to receive the penalty amount has also been put on hold.

It is noteworthy to mention here that fines worth over Rs2 million had been imposed on the MPAs over alleged vandalism in the Punjab Assembly.

Furthermore, no-confidence motions aimed at removing nine chairpersons of the committees belonging to the opposition have also been stopped. Prior to this development, four opposition chairpersons had already been removed.

Two days ago, the government and the opposition committees ended their talks without a breakthrough in the Punjab MPAs' disqualification row but agreed to continue negotiations in hopes of resolving the standoff.

Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar said that there was no deadlock and the meetings would continue until a consensus is achieved, adding that the speaker urged both sides to follow all rules of the assembly.

Bhachar said that the matters would not be resolved in an hour or two, and they will move forward by consulting the parliamentary party. The opposition leader added that the PA speaker will bind both parties to follow the Rules of Procedure.

Punjab Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman hoped that the matters would be finalised in one or two more meetings.

He further said that the treasury does not want to deseat the opposition lawmakers nor does it favour disqualifying them. "The treasury wants to restore the respect and dignity of the house," he said, adding that political matters are resolved via dialogue.

The reference filed against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed MPAs includes Malik Farhad Masood, Muhammad Tanveer Aslam, Syed Riffat Mehmood, Yasir Mehmood Qureshi, Kaleem Ullah Khan, Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, Ali Asif, Zulfiqar Ali, Ahmad Mujtaba Chaudhary, Shahid Javed, Muhammad Ismael, and Khayal Ahmad.

Shahbaz Ahmad, Tayyab Rashid, Imtiaz Mehmood, Ali Imtiaz, Rashid Tufail, Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal, Khalid Zubair Nisar, Ch Muhammad Ejaz Shafi, Saima Kanwal, Muhammad Naeem, Sajjad Ahmed, Rana, Aourang Zaib, Shuaib Ameer and Usama Asghar Ali Gujjar.

Separately, 10 opposition lawmakers had been fined more than Rs2 million for acts of vandalism such as breaking microphones, as per the relevant video evidence.

Those fined include Chaudhary Javed Kausar, Asad Abbas, Tanveer Aslam, Riffat Mehmood, Muhammad Ismael, Shahbaz Ahmad, Imtiaz Mehmood, Khalid Zubair, Rana Aourang Zaib and Muhammad Ahsan Ali — all of whom will have to pay Rs203,550 each.