Police raid houses of multiple Punjab Assembly officials ahead of session

LAHORE: Police have raided the houses of multiple employees of the Punjab Assembly in the wee hours on Sunday and arrested Director General (DG) Parliamentary Affairs Rai Mumtaz as others successfully evaded the arrests ahead of a key session of the provincial assembly summoned by Speaker Parvez Elahi today, ARY NEWS reported.

The police also went to the houses of Secretary Punjab Assembly Muhammad Khan Bhatti, and Secretary Coordination Inayat Ullah, however, remained unsuccessful in nabbing them.

Punjab Assembly spokesman confirmed the raids and said that the police went to the houses of Rai Mumtaz, Inayat Ullah, and Muhammad Khan Bhatti. “The police harassed the families of the officials and resorted to violence,” he said.

Speaker Punjab Assembly Parvez Elahi condemned the arrest of Rai Mumtaz and raids at the house of other assembly officials. “All action is being taken on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” he said and added that the raids depict the government’s failure to prove its majority in the House.

It is pertinent to mention here that Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has convened a session of the provincial assembly today (Sunday) in a surprise move ahead of the previous date fixed for the session. The assembly was previously slated to meet on May 30.

This is the third time that the date of the PA session has been changed as the speaker first gave the date of May 16 when the assembly was scheduled to meet in the first week of May. However, the session wasn’t held on the given date and was rescheduled for May 30.

Speaker Pervaiz Elahi has directed the members of the Punjab Assembly to reach the Secretariat. He said that the members of the assembly should reach the Punjab Assembly at 12 o’clock.