After a lengthy delay, the Punjab Assembly’s newly elected members took the oath of office on Friday. The proceedings were clouded by rumors of the arrest of a politician supported by the PTI.
Speaker Sibtain Khan oversaw about 215 legislators from the PML-N and its allies, as well as 98 lawmakers from the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and the PTI.
Khan also released the timeline for the Saturday election of the Punjab Assembly’s new speaker and deputy speaker.
Today till 5:30 p.m. is the deadline for filing nomination papers and having them scrutinized. The election will be held on February 24 using a secret ballot.
Speaker nomination papers have been sent in by SIC’s Ahmed Khan Picher and PML-N’s Malik Mohammad Ahmed. A contest for the deputy speaker position is between Malik Zaheer Iqbal of the PML-N and Muhammad Moinuddin Riaz.
The speaker requested the legislators gathered “not to spoil the atmosphere” after the oath was administered.
In addition to congratulating the new MPAs on taking up their positions and wishing them well, Khan stated, “And I am saying this personally that may God also give you courage to listen to each other patiently.”
The speaker of the house became agitated after hearing that independent legislator and PTI supporter Mian Aslam had been arrested from the assembly grounds. As a result, the police were ordered to provide a report on Aslam’s whereabouts.
The opposition asked the speaker to halt the house’s proceedings because they had not yet been assigned reserve seats, while PML-N legislators in attendance pleaded with the speaker to administer the oath.
The speaker temporarily adjourned the Punjab Assembly meeting till after Friday prayers.
“Equal opportunities for some, not for others”
In regard to the challenges experienced by independent candidates endorsed by the PTI, Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Sibtain Khan said that certain MPs have been given equal treatment while others have not.
As Khan arrived at the assembly, he declared, “Now that I’ve come, I shall see who stops the representatives of the people from coming to the premie.”
He continued by saying he will find out who among the legislators had been denied access to the building.
“Today in the assembly, there will be no other activity apart from administering oath to the nine designated lawmakers.”
Maryam Nawaz is the PML-N’s choice to be the next prime minister. Maryam would become the nation’s first female chief minister if she were elected.
The PML-N says it has enough seats to form a government, even though PTI-backed independents in a few Punjabi seats have challenged the election results. The party needs the support of 186 MPAs in Punjab in order to accomplish this.
The PML-N won 137 seats in the polls held on February 8. It gained five seats for minorities and 36 reserved seats for women on Friday, bringing its total number of seats in the 397-seat house to 178. On the other hand, the party claims that more than 190 MPAs support it.
