LAHORE, May 30: The Pakistan People’s Party has decided to claim a minimum of Rs100 million in damages for the humiliation of each of its 11 MPAs at the hands of police.

The decision was made by PPP leaders Senator Sardar Latif Khan Khosa and MNA Chaudhry Aitzaz Ehsan, who would file suits against the provincial chief minister, the Punjab Assembly speaker and the Lahore SSP on behalf of MPAs Qasim Zia, Samiullah Khan, Dr Asad Muazzam, Raja Riaz Ahmad, Aftab Ahmad Khan, Ashraf Kamboh, Lala Shakeelur Rehman, Mian Saud Hassan Dar, Ejaz Ahmad Sammah, Sheikh Aziz and Dr Mohammad Afzal.

Sardar Khosa told Dawn on Friday that “the dignity of our legislators should not be taken for granted”.

He further said: “We firmly believe that by claiming damages we can at least shake up the quarters concerned for their shameless act. What kind of parliamentary traditions had been set when our MPAs were rounded up by the police after being denied entry into the Assembly building, which was both their legal and parliamentary right.”

He maintained that the PPP had a very strong case for winning the damages suits as everything stood established against the government with regard to the humiliation of MPAs.