PML-N MPAs force their way inside Punjab Assembly

The Punjab Assembly session resumed on Tuesday after PML-N lawmakers forced their way inside the Punjab Assembly as Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah accused Chief Minister Parvez Elahi and Speaker Sibtain Khan of instructing the police to not allow opposition members to enter the premises.

The doors of the assembly were closed and security guards remained on high alert after yesterday's session saw ruckus as the opposition challenged CM Elahi to prove he had the requisite numbers to secure a vote of confidence.

Today's session resumed after a three-hour delay with 25 government lawmakers and 56 opposition lawmakers present.

Punjab police personnel guard the entrance of the Punjab Assembly. - Photo by author.

Prior to the proceedings, footage from outside the assembly showed PML-N lawmakers Peer Muhammad Ashraf Rasool and Mian Abdul Rauf clashing with police. Rasool can be seen pushing a policeman away and cursing at them as he forced his way inside the main gate.

"Move back. Stop this nonsense," an infuriated Rasool can be heard saying.

After the clash, other opposition members, including Khalil Tahir Sindhu and Zeeshan Rafiq, opened the PA gate and entered the premises.

Meanwhile, Rangers personnel accompanied Special Assistant to Prime Minister Ataullah Tarar inside the assembly.

"Today it was said that federal ministers will not be able to enter the PA and their entry is banned," he told reporters outside the house. "I told them that even their fathers can't even stop me from entering [the assembly]."

Earlier, Sanaullah had made similar claims, saying that Elahi had banned the entry of opposition lawmakers into the house.

Tarar claimed that PTI and PML-Q did not have the required numbers to take the vote of confidence.

He added that CM Elahi could not get the required numbers even if he resorted to rigging. "Yesterday Imran Khan had to face embarrassment because of Elahi's corruption."

On the other hand, PA Speaker Sibtain Khan said he did not know anything about SAPM Tarar and Sanaullah's car being stopped from entering the assembly premises.

"I don't know. I, myself am coming right now. Let me check this first," Sibtain said while speaking to the media at the PA entrance. "I'm saying whoever did this, it should not have happened."

Meanwhile, the PA spokesperson said there was no ban on the entry of journalists inside the assembly. "A wrong impression is being given that the media is being stopped from entering the assembly."