Deadlock 'persists' between opposition, govt committee over 26 PTI MPAs

LAHORE: Negotiations between the Punjab government and the opposition, have reached a deadlock over the reinstatement of 26 suspended Punjab MPAs, ARY News reported citing sources.

According to sources, the opposition has rejected the conditions proposed by the government committee, particularly the demand to refrain from protests and disruptive behavior in the assembly.

Sources from PTI said that the opposition considers protests within the assembly as their constitutional right and has refused to comply with the government’s condition to avoid creating disturbances.

“Protests in the house are inevitable during heated sessions, and we cannot back down from our right to protest,” opposition sources stated.

The opposition has also stated that future negotiations will focus on an agenda to prevent both sides from engaging in abusive language within the assembly.

They further noted that any use of derogatory remarks by either the government or opposition benches should result in penalties for both sides to ensure fairness.

According to opposition sources, a follow-up meeting with the government committee is expected within the next one to two days to continue discussions.

On June 27, 2025, the opposition MPAs allegedly caused disruption and damaged property during a Punjab Assembly session. In response, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan suspended the membership of these 26 SIC lawmakers.

Later on June 28, the speaker announced his decision to refer the matter to the ECP for the disqualification of the suspended members.

The members suspended by the speaker included Malik Fahad Masood, Muhammad Tanvir Aslam, Syed Riffat Mehmood, Yasir Mehmood Qureshi, Kalimullah Khan, Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, Ali Asif, Zulfiqar Ali, Ahmed Mujtaba Chaudhry, Shahid Javed, Muhammad Ismail, Khayal Ahmed, Shehbaz Ahmed, Tayyab Rashid, Imtiaz Mehmood, Ali Imtiaz, Rashid Tufail, Murtaza Iqbal, Khalid Zubair, Ijaz Shafi, Saima Kanwal, Muhammad Naeem, Sajjad Ahmed, Rana Aurangzeb, Shoaib Mir and Usama Asghar Ali Gujjar.