Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari on Tuesday staged a walkout during a Punjab Assembly session in solidarity with journalists who have been boycotting the provincial legislature over alleged “ill-treatment” during Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s visit to the assembly.
During his three-day visit to Lahore over the weekend, the KP chief minister had given an address at the Punjab Assembly to opposition MPAs last week. However, the visit was marred by altercations between members of his entourage and security officials, while heated exchanges between PTI leaders and journalists were also witnessed.
Speaking during the session, Bokhari staged a walkout to show solidarity with journalists from the Punjab Assembly’s press gallery, who she said were “beaten and pushed around” by people accompanying the KP CM.
During yesterday’s assembly session, a statement by opposition member Col. (retd) Shoaib Amir about the press gallery, calling them “sellouts”, also sparked outrage.
“The whole world witnessed the spectacle in the assembly on the arrival of the KP CM,” she said, adding that preparations had been made for the chief minister’s arrival.
However, she claimed that the KP CM “brought unauthorised persons with him, who claimed to be journalists”.
She alleged that they beat up journalists from the press gallery and misbehaved with them.
“The footage is available in the assembly’s records,” she added.
She further said that rather than apologising, the opposition doubled down on their conduct.
“I was accused of planting journalists during the KP CM’s visit,” she said, questioning if it was wrong to ask the KP CM “how he was finding his Lahore visit”.
“I was told that I had paid my employees to pose as journalists,” she said, vowing that she intended to send a defamation notice.
“In solidarity with what happened with Punjab’s journalists and with the members of the press gallery, I’m staging a walkout,” the minister said.
On Monday, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan had announced that an inquiry conducted into the chaos that marred the arrival of KP CM to the provincial legislature’s building would be sent to the law enforcement agencies.
Same day, chief minister Afridi, in a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, expressed “deep concern” at the treatment meted out to him during his Lahore visit, stating it was marked by “discourtesy and unnecessary hostility”.
Meanwahile, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has recommended legal action against those involved in chaos that erupted during the arrival of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to the provincial legislature’s building.
The report, prepared by a committee constituted by the speaker, concluded that individuals accompanying the KP chief minister entered the House without proper authorisation, triggering chaos and physical altercations with assembly security staff.
Citing the findings, the speaker said that people were brought into the Punjab Assembly whose names were not included in the approved visitors’ list. He accused those accompanying CM Afridi of disrupting proceedings and engaging in scuffles inside the House.
According to the inquiry report, legal action has been proposed against persons found involved in “hooliganism”, while assistance from law enforcement agencies has also been recommended to further investigate the incident.
The committee noted that the opposition had provided only a list of names of individuals accompanying the KP chief minister, without essential identification details.
Due to the absence of CNIC numbers, photographs or vehicle registration details, security officials faced serious difficulties in verifying identities.
The report further revealed that an individual identified as Matiullah Barqi attempted to enter the assembly by falsely claiming he was KP Assembly member Ashfaq from constituency PK-89. However, KP provincial minister Meena Khan later confirmed that Barqi was not MPA Ashfaq.
When asked to leave the premises, Barqi reportedly engaged in verbal abuse and scuffled with security personnel, the report stated.
The inquiry also highlighted that the opposition had assured that two PTI lawmakers would remain present at the main gate to facilitate identification, a commitment that was not fulfilled.
Additionally, the report disclosed that the opposition-provided list included the name of a convicted individual, Haider Majeed, raising further concerns over due diligence.
It added that despite repeated requests by assembly security for identity verification, personnel were subjected to pushing, verbal abuse and physical jostling. The Assembly Secretariat recorded statements of security staff present at the scene as part of the investigation.
The report came a day after KP CM Afridi wrote a letter to Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz, voicing serious concern and lodged a strong protest over alleged ill-treatment during his recent visit.
The PTI-backed KP CM arrived in Lahore on December 26 for a three-day visit to partake in political activities, including a scheduled visit to the Punjab Assembly. His visit to the Punjab Assembly, however, was marred by altercations between members of his delegation and the security officials. Both sides blamed each other for the scuffle in the provincial assembly.