LAHORE: The Acting Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Zaheer Iqbal Chanar has restored 26 opposition members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who were previously suspended.
During a session led by Chanar, Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman appealed for the reinstatement, mentioning that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also supports the return of elected representatives to ensure proper representation of their constituencies. He stressed the importance of opposition members for the assembly’s dynamism and noted that the house feels incomplete without their active participation.
In response, the Acting Speaker stated that reinstating these members would send a constructive message and directed their immediate reinstatement. He also ordered the issuance of official notifications to facilitate their return to the assembly.
Earlier, on June 27, PTI lawmakers had disrupted proceedings during Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s speech, chanting slogans and surrounding the speaker’s dais. As a consequence, 26 opposition members were suspended for 15 sessions, and ten Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) were fined Rs200,000 each for damaging public property. Disqualification proceedings were also initiated against some members and forwarded to the Election Commission on grounds of “unparliamentary conduct.”
However, two days prior, the Speaker dismissed disqualification cases following successful negotiations with the opposition. The Speaker emphasized that serious allegations should be proven in court and cautioned against actions that undermine free speech or the constitutional role of the assembly.
The reinstated PTI members include Malik Farhad Masood, Tanveer Aslam, Yasir Mehmood Qureshi, Ahmad Mujtaba, Shahbaz Ahmad, Saima Kanwal, Usama, among others.
