Speaker of Punjab Assembly suspends 27 members

Malik Ahmad Khan took the decision on the request of a SIC leader in light of the Supreme Court decision.

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 11th May, 2024) In a significant development for the ruling alliance in Punjab, Provincial Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan took action by upgrading the membership of 27 MPAs to reserved following a recent decision Sitting suspended by the Supreme Court.

The court had set aside the allotment of reserved seats by the Peshawar High Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

Opposition MPs expressed their agreement with the decision and welcomed the speaker’s decision.

The suspension came after SIC MPA Rana Aftab raised the issue in light of the court verdict.

Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan deemed the motion valid and suspended the membership of the 27 MPs.

The ruling takes effect immediately and the banned MPs will be refused entry.

The ruling alliance lost 24 female MPs and three minority MPs as a result of the court decision.

The suspended MPs represent various parties including PML-N, PPP, IPP and PML-Q.

The decision also changes the balance of power in the Punjab Assembly, reducing the PML-N’s support from 226 to 203 MPs.

The decision follows an ECP ruling on March 4 that sought to fill seats through proportional representation based on the parties’ electoral successes.

The decision impacted the PTI-backed SIC, which lost 77 reserved seats in various assemblies.

Furthermore, the Peshawar High Court rejected the SIC’s applications regarding reserved seats, thereby questioning the ECP’s allotment decisions.