Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan on Monday announced that an inquiry conducted into the chaos that marred the arrival of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to the provinicial legislature’s building over the weekend would be sent to the law enforcement agencies.

During his three-day visit to Lahore over the weekend, the KP chief minister had given an address at the Punjab Assembly to opposition MPAs on Friday. However, the visit was marred by altercations between members of his entourage and security officials, while heated exchanges between PTI leaders and journalists were also witnessed.

Addressing the incident at a press conference in Lahore today, Khan said that the report on the unrest was being sent to the law enforcement agencies, which would conduct an independent investigation into the incident.

He said that he had informed the KP chief minister that a special permit was required to enter the assembly premises, and that in the absence of any other documentation, “at least” an ID card number would be necessary verification for anyone wishing to enter.

“This is a Red Zone with an extensive security parameter,” he said. “You cannot ignore it under any circumstances.”

He added that Afridi had agreed and provided a list of those accompanying him from the National and KP assemblies, which had been facilitated. However, the protocols had not been followed, he regretted.

He also accused Afridi of bringing unidentified individuals into the Assembly premises.

“Unauthorised entry is not permissible … work progresses according to the rules. Every little thing … Every individual has to be permitted to be allowed to enter the [assembly] premises,” he stressed.

Criticising the opposition, the speaker said raising objections to pieces of legislation was their democratic right but resorting to siege, arson and chaos reflected their incompetence and intent to create instability in the country.

“If you lack tolerance, then shut down the business of democracy,” he remarked, adding that assembly sessions cost billions of rupees and disruptions wasted public funds.

He further said that PTI workers were not barred from visiting the Punjab Assembly but hooliganism and violence would not be tolerated.

During his press conference, the speaker regretted that political parties’ outreach had become increasingly “regional” and confined to a single province, adding that they should be encouraged to increase their national outreach.

“Political parties strengthen the federation,” he said. “If their outreach is national … then the federation becomes strong.”

The speaker said that he had constituted a “high-powered” inquiry committee to investigate the incident, which was tasked to investigate the CCTV footage of Afridi’s arrival.

The Speaker said that the footage depicted a breach of protocol at the gates, firstly because there was a greater-than-expected number of people accompanying the chief minister. Multiple members of the entourage were not on the assembly’s list and were also unable to display proof of identity as requested, violating the security standard operating procedures, he said.

According to Khan, the situation then escalated as security staff were “manhandled” after the unidentified individuals were stopped.

According to the committee’s findings, he said, the unauthorised persons were those convicted in the past, including some under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

“These people who are charged and convicted with having burned government buildings — instead of putting them in jail, you’ll bring them into the Punjab Assembly?” he said. “This cannot be allowed under any circumstances.”

Khan stressed that even the speaker of the assembly, who was thought of as all-important, was bound “by every word written in the procedure”.

He recalled that the PTI had violated even the sanctity of the most sacred places for Muslims in Saudi Arabia for their political agenda.

“Those who do not respect the sanctity of holy limits cannot respect democratic institutions,” he said, vowing action against all responsible individuals as per the investigation report.

Khan reiterated that violations had occurred not only inside the Punjab Assembly but beyond it as well, and urged all institutions to conduct thorough investigations to ensure accountability and uphold democratic norms.