The Punjab Assembly (PA) session, which was started to elect the new Chief Minister (CM) Punjab turned into a battle filed today (Saturday).
Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari was attacked by several Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs). The lawmakers of the ruling party threw “lotas” at Mazari first, attacked him and pulled his hair despite the presence of security guards. Mazari who got injured somehow managed to go inside his chamber.
Consequently, the session has been delayed due to the unfortunate incident.
In a media talk outside the Punjab Assembly after the ruckus inside, PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar blamed Pervaiz Elahi and his “group of gangsters” for everything that happened inside the legislature.
“What happened today is a blatant violation of the law and Constitution,” he said. “Today, the deputy speaker was attacked. This is an incident of terrorism. I have heard Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi wants to get one or two people murdered.” He added that Elahi had been encouraging the MPAs when they attacked the deputy speaker.
Tarar also called on the Lahore High Court to take suo moto notice of the incident and initiate action against the culprits. “We are here and won’t move till midnight.”
PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz also condemned the incident. In a tweet, she said, “The gang of thugs whose name is PTI, seeing their defeat in Punjab, have started bullying again.”
She further said that “This culture is by no means good for the country and for the nation but is a disaster. It must be stopped and eradicated immediately.”
Similarly, PML-N Marriyum Aurangzeb took a jibe at former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. She said, “After attacking the constitution, Parliament, Khan ordered an attack on Deputy Speaker in Punjab Assembly.”
PML-N Khawaja Asif lashed out at Pervaiz Elahi, saying: “PTI-PML-Q gang of mobsters has not only desecrated Punjab Assembly a constitutional institution representing people of Punjab but they have also brought shame to parliamentarians all over the country.”
On the contrary, the ruling party nominee Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi blamed the PML-N for bringing the police inside the legislature “for the first time since the creation of assemblies”.
“Who is the police to enter the assembly?” the PML-Q leader said. “We will make sure the Inspector General of Police (IGP) appears before us and he will be punished for a month.”
A tough contest is expected to take place between Elahi and PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz, who is the joint opposition’s candidate. Both candidates, along with their supporters, had arrived at the PA in the morning.
