PTI parliamentarians barred from entering National Assembly

• MNAs chant slogans against PM, NA speaker, interior minister.
• Exchange of harsh words takes place amid standoff.
• All PTI lawmakers are from Karachi reinstated after SHC ruling.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) seven lawmakers were stopped from entering the Parliament House on Wednesday by the Islamabad Police after they tried entering its premises to attend the ongoing session of the National Assembly.

An exchange of harsh words took place amid the standoff between the MNAs and the police, as they demanded participation in the session. The lawmakers eventually returned after staging a protest against facing resistance from the police at the NA’s main gate.

The PTI MNAs chanted slogans against the NA speaker, prime minister and interior minister while announcing their return to the parliament tomorrow (Thursday).

During the standoff, the lawmakers had given a five-minute ultimatum to the speaker demanding entry into the lower house of parliament. “If we are not allowed to enter parliament in five minutes, then we will give the next plan of action,” the members said.

The MNAs who participated in the protest included Aftab Siddiqui, Faheem Khan, Saifur Rehman, Aftab Jahangir, Aslam Khan, Ataullah Khan and Jahangir Alam.

While the standoff between the lawmakers and police continued, Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan also arrived at parliament and was stuck inside its premises amid the chaos. The envoy was then escorted by security personnel through an alternate route.

The PTI lawmakers, stopped by the police, are members of the National Assembly from Karachi who had resigned while protesting against their party Chairman Imran Khan’s ouster in April last year.

Months later, their resignations were accepted by Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, after which the lawmakers approached the Sindh High Court (SHC) seeking reinstatement and holding by-elections on their seats.

A day earlier, Siddiqui announced the lawmakers’ decision to attend the NA session during a meeting in Karachi and wrote a letter to the lower house speaker informing him about it.

The lawmakers, in the letter, mentioned that it is their right to attend the assembly session after the suspension of the speaker’s order following the court’s ruling in March. They warned to protest and initiate legal proceedings if prevented from participating in the session.