PAKISTAN'S National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser on Wednesday (16) barred seven lawmakers from entering the house, a day after parliamentarians from the treasury and opposition benches hurled abuses and threw budget copies at each other.
Qaiser said members who disrupted the session during a speech by the leader of opposition, Shehbaz Sharif, have been barred from entering the house as their behaviour was "unparliamentary" and "inappropriate".
Three lawmakers belonging to prime minister Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) - Faheem Khan, Abdul Majeed Khan and Ali Nawaz Awan, and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Ali Gohar Khan, Chaudhary Hamid Hameed and Sheikh Rohale Asghar and one member of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Syed Agha Rafiullah, have been barred from attending the session.
The speaker said the conduct of the lawmakers "was grossly disorderly" and they "have been told to not enter the precinct of the Parliament House till further orders."
One of the barred members, Awan, is a special assistant to the prime minister on capital development authority affairs. He was heard using abusive language against a PML-N lawmaker
The ugly scenes were witnessed in the House when PML-N president Sharif attempted to make the customary speech to open the forum for debate on the budget. Within no time, it turned so unruly that Qaiser had to suspend the proceedings of the House three times.
PTI leader and parliamentary secretary for law, Maleeka Bokhari, was hit on the face by an unknown object, leaving her with an injured eye; she was treated at the Parliament House dispensary.
Qaiser met the prime minister before deciding to ban the lawmakers. He also held telephone calls with Sharif and PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on the situation.
Health officials across the country have also encouraged individuals with symptoms to isolate and seek testingiStock
