LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammed Ahmed Khan says there has been no reversal of principle, nor any contradiction in his position as speaker.

“My ruling on Monday was grounded firmly in the constitutional doctrine of parliamentary supremacy. It addressed a clear procedural and legal lapse – namely, that rate-altering notifications had not been laid before the assembly as required at the time of the budget. In such circumstances, it was both my duty and responsibility to uphold the authority of the House and to declare that any executive action bypassing the legislature could not stand.

“Subsequent proceedings in the House on Tuesday must be understood in their proper parliamentary context. The assembly, in its collective wisdom and through a unanimous motion, chose to condone the procedural delay in the laying of those notifications. Once the House exercised its authority to regularise the process, the legal and constitutional defect identified in my earlier ruling stood addressed.

“This sequence reflects the strength of parliamentary democracy, not inconsistency. The Speaker’s role is to interpret and enforce the rules and the Constitution at any given moment based on the facts before the Chair. When those facts change through due process of the House, the outcome naturally evolves in accordance with the will of the legislature.

“Therefore, it is neither accurate nor fair to characterise these proceedings as a “U-turn” or an instance of the Speaker retreating from his position.”

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2026