LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-backed opposition in the Punjab Assembly has announced boycott of the house proceedings and decided not to become a part of its standing committees, holding its parallel session in a tent outside the assembly building.

“We’ll neither become a part of any house proceedings, nor of its committees,” opposition leader Malik Ahmed Khan Bhachar told a press conference here on Tuesday.

He said they were forced to take the step in protest against the suspension of 11 opposition lawmakers for 15 sittings of the house, and pledged to continue the boycott until the sanction is not withdrawn.

Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan had withdrawn the official vehicle given to the opposition leader and imposed the sanction on 11 members for “rowdyism” during the speech of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on the completion of the annual budget approval process last Friday.

Won’t become part of standing committees

The opposition members facing the sanction include Zulfikar Ali, Shehbaz Ahmed, Muhammad Atif, Tayyab Rashid, Imtiaz Mahmood, Hafiz Farhat Abbas, Ejaz Shafi, Rana Aurangzeb, Shoaib Amir, Osama Asghar Ali Gujjar and Asad Abbas.

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They had allegedly used non-parliamentary and abusive language against the chief minister when she was recounting the achievements of her first 100-day rule on the conclusion of the budget approval process.

Mr Bhachar said that his colleagues were suspended on the direction of the chief minister and for raising objections to the budget.

He argued that the speaker should have first served notice on the members and taken action only after giving them a personal hearing. “Penalising parliamentarians without hearing them is unprecedented,” he said, adding how a chief minister could face 120 million people when she could not face a few legislators.

He recalled that during Pervaiz Elahi’s regime, the then opposition PML-N had even broken chairs in the house, but no action had been taken against its members.

The opposition leader said that they could not tolerate being implicated in ‘illegal’ cases and announced moving every available forum against the government’s action.

He also urged ‘masters’ of the rulers to think sensibly [and avoid going too far with anti-PTI policy].

He said that the opposition would continue holding a parallel session of the assembly in a ‘tent chamber’ outside the assembly building, where private staff would also be appointed to run the show.

The first opposition “session” would be held at 11am on Wednesday, he announced.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2024