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LAHORE, Jun 28 (APP):Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has taken firm action against opposition lawmakers, announcing suspension of 26 members and sending references against them to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), citing their alleged role in violating the sanctity and privilege of the House.
Addressing the assembly session on Saturday, he said these members would be banned from entering the assembly premises due to their disruptive conduct. “This House is our property, and I will not tolerate its disrespect under any circumstances,” he declared.
Referring to Friday’s events, the speaker praised Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif for maintaining composure and delivering an “excellent speech” despite chaos. “Since yesterday, I have acknowledged her courage and dignity. Can anyone behave like that in their own home, the way it happened yesterday?” he asked.
Malik Ahmad reiterated his commitment to the Constitution, stating, “If they do not follow the Constitution, I know how to enforce it.” He added that recovery notices would be sent to those who damaged the assembly.
Condemning the opposition’s behavior, the Speaker said, “You protest while standing in air-conditioned rooms. Now I will see how much you really protest in the streets. A whole structure of their narrative is built on lies—why is the government allowing this?”
He questioned the opposition’s understanding of democracy, saying, “Do they even know what democracy is? Democracy doesn’t just mean having the right to protest.”
The Speaker emphasized that members must earn respect by upholding the dignity of the House. “Inside this House, they chant filthy slogans and hurl abuses. If a member does not accept the rules, it is the Speaker’s responsibility to prevent them from entering.”
Referring to a recent incident, he revealed, “Opposition members stood up and started hitting women with books. Member Hasan Malik even threw his book at Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman.”
He further criticized the opposition for hypocrisy and double standards. “What about your own record? What did you do with Dost Muhammad Mazari? If your leader is in jail, did I put him there? Am I supposed to grant him bail?”
He added, “Leaders have been hanged in this country. People’s relatives died, and they weren’t allowed to leave the country. Yet your leader threatens to take to the streets instead of courts.”
He accused opposition figures like Pervez Khattak and Ali Amin Gandapur of repeatedly leading street protests. “Respect has to be earned—not demanded.”
“I got 78 laws passed and sent them to standing committees where they were discussed in detail,” the Speaker noted, adding that 95 per cent of current members have no electoral controversy against them.
He alleged that past court decisions by “favorite judges” were aimed at toppling Hamza Shahbaz’s government.
He said that “I will send references against 26 individuals to the Election Commission in light of the Umar Ata Bandial case.”
Expressing sorrow over the tragic incident in Swat where 17 people died, the Speaker slammed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. “Where is the government? Their joker Chief Minister says, ‘Should I take a tent and stand there?’ They couldn’t even try to save innocent lives. This is the height of brutality. This is disgrace.”
Malik Ahmad Khan reminded the opposition that the House must function under constitutional norms. “I am the Speaker who said no member shall be arrested. Unlike during Parvez Elahi’s tenure when FIRs were lodged against 50 members, I issued production orders.”
Concluding his address, he said, “There are people in this House who want this system to collapse. They are enemies of democracy. I will fight for the sanctity of the assemblies, and I have now made my decision.”