Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Monday endorsed the decision of the deputy speaker regarding the suspension of three lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), making it clear that the decision of Mazari could not be reconsidered at all.
“I have seen the video of the assembly’s proceeding of that day when the incident took place and the deputy speaker made the right decision by suspending three MPAs, and therefore, no one can now undo his decision,” said Elahi, chairing the session of the Punjab Assembly. The PML-N demanded the speaker reconsiders the action of Mazari, but to no avail. PML-N’s senior lawmaker Malik Ahmed Khan, speaking on a point of order, said that an inquiry should have been initiated before suspending the membership of the three MPAs. “I have a lot of respect for the chair and I have now realised that the conduct of the chair shouldn’t be discussed with the media outside the House, and therefore I admit my mistake in front of the House,” said Malik Ahmed. Addressing the speaker, he said, “You have also served as speaker and leader of the House in the past, and you should constitute an ethics committee of the House consisting of senior MPAs from both the opposition and treasury benches.” He also requested Elahi to call the suspended MPAs to listen to their point of view as well, but his request was turned down by the speaker, as he said that the chapter was closed now and the decision of Mazari was final. “You will be embarrassed after viewing the video of that day,” said Elahi, and added that the sanctity of the chair would not be compromised at all.
Speaking on the point of order, PML-N’s Samiullah Khan said it was true that every member of the House should respect the chair, but similarly the chair should also keep in mind the sanctity of his own office. “If the speaker will talk like the head of the PML-Q instead of acting like the custodian of the House then he himself will undermine the sanctity of the chair,” said Samiullah. He further added that the sanctity of the chair would also be undermined when the speaker responded like a minister of the government. He went on to say that there were five more assemblies in the country, including the Senate and the National Assembly, and “we can see more ruckus and pandemonium there as compared to the Punjab Assembly, but memberships aren’t suspended there the way we are facing here”. He also accused the speaker’s office of releasing a ‘fake’ video of the rumpus in the Punjab Assembly some months back, after which six of the opposition’s MPAs were suspended at that time, but the fake video was exposed by the media covering the proceedings. He was referring to the incident when six MPAs of the PML-N were suspended last year in October during the budget session as they were accused of using foul language against the speaker and damaging government property. Samiullah also said that a government minister of the PTI who used to sit on opposition benches during the last tenure once used derogatory remarks against then speaker Rana Iqbal, as he had told the chair to ‘shut up’. Two-times former speaker Rana Iqbal, who is now an MPA of the PML-N, refuted the member of his own party on the spot, as he said that no such incident took place during his tenure as the speaker. The remarks of Rana Iqbal were appreciated by the treasury and Elahi, who paid gratitude to him.
Minister for Public Prosecution Chaudhry Zaheeruddin demanded stern action and cut in the salary of the member who uses derogatory remarks against the chair and created ruckus in the House. Moreover, the House unanimously passed a joint resolution moved by the PML-N’s Tariq Masih Gill to condemn the deadly incidents of terrorism in Sri Lanka during this Easter. The Punjab Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Bill was also introduced in the House. The session was later adjourned to meet again today (Tuesday) morning.