Speaker decides to punish three

Karachi
The provincial assembly speaker has decided to references to the Election Commission of Pakistan for the disqualification of three MPAs of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Functional as members of the House.
Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Agha Siraj Khan Durrani said he would send disqualification references against Shaharyar Khan Mahar, Nand Kumar and Nusrat Seher Abbasi over their disorderly conduct in the House last month when they had torn their personal copies of the provincial assembly’s rules of procedure booklet.
He was speaking to the media after meeting with katchi abadis minister Jawaid Nagori at his house to condole with him on the death of his brother last week.
On April 6, the lawmakers of the PML-F and the PML-N had staged a protest in the House against the speaker’s decision to abruptly end the time reserved for call-attention notices.
They had gathered near the speaker’s rostrum and some of them had torn their copies of the rules booklet in protest.
A day later, the provincial assembly through a majority vote had passed a censure motion against MPA Shaharyar Khan Mahar for his action. Mahar, at that time, was the leader of the opposition in House and on April 29 resigned from the position after Muttahida Qaumi Movement nominated its MPA Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan for the slot.
Durrani said tearing the rules of procedure booklet was tantamount to disrespecting the Constitution. “The law department had been instructed to draft disqualification references against the three MPAs,” he added.
The speaker said in the past instances, opposition lawmakers had torn copies of the agenda of sittings while protesting but not the rules booklet.
“These three opposition lawmakers have no regard for the sanctity and decorum of the sacred House of elected representatives and will be penalised through disqualification so that there are no such incidents in the future.”
Besides, sending disqualification references against them, the speaker is also constitutionally empowered to debar MPAs from the assembly for an entire session or for certain days for misconduct in the House.