LAHORE: Twenty-six suspended MPAs, led by Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, held a ‘Haqeeqi Assembly’ session outside the assembly’s main gate and passed a resolution against, what they termed, illegal incarceration of founder Imran Khan, his wife, senior leaders and other political workers.

Though the Punjab government had dug up the space in front of the assembly gate, the PTI parliamentary party members organised the ‘Haqeeqi Assembly’ across the road.

The resolution said the fascist Punjab government was committing every kind of torture, denial of facilities as per the jail manual as well as grave violation of human rights. The resolution stated the party would not tolerate mistreatment being meted out to Mr Khan.

It said Mr Khan was being denied access to family members and his personal physician and that the Punjab government should allow Mr Khan’s sisters as well as his sons, upon their arrival in Pakistan, to meet him.

Mr Bhachar demanded that all political prisoners be released or the party’s leaders and workers would stage a massive protest on Aug 5, marking two years since Mr Khan’s arrest from Lahore in Toshakhana case.

PTI suspended MPAs and workers chanted slogans in favour of Khan.

Speaking to the media persons, Mr Bhachar said the opposition would continue staging ‘Haqeeqi Assembly’ outside the assembly gate against the unconstitutional steps being taken in the assembly as well as restoration of 26 suspended MPAs.

Stating that the chief minister was unable to face the 100 MPAs in the assembly, Mr Bhachar asked how she would be able to face the 120 million people of Punjab.

Answering a question, he said Imran Khan’s sons could come to Pakistan any time to meet their father.

Meanwhile, sources told Dawn that the opposition leader was being pressured to cancel the ‘Haqeeqi Assembly’ plan as the Speaker wanted to negotiate with him.

LETTER: PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, Omar Sarfraz Cheema and Dr Yasmin Rashid and Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, in a joint open letter from the Kot Lakhpat Jail, condemned Punjab Assembly Speaker’s move to deseat 26 PTI MPAs.

“Mr Speaker, you are totally biased and you will never be able to defend yourself against such a draconian move,” they stated.

They stated that the Speaker had no legal authority to deseat elected MPAs on the pretext that they were creating a ruckus in the assembly during the speech of the chief minister. Calling it an unprecedented move, they said the elected members were being deseated under pressure and the Speaker needed to understand that he was depriving the electoral college and insulting the voters.

“The concept of democracy in the minds of the PML-N leaders has totally changed. They have lost the thought process that it was the people of Pakistan, who vote you in and vote you out,” the PTI leaders wrote.

“The Speaker himself acknowledged that in the past 22 years, no finance minister could complete their speech without interruption. Even the president’s speech got interrupted. So what is new is that such an extreme and drastic step is being taken and the worst part is that it is being condoned by the federal law minister,” they wrote.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2025