Outgoing Speaker Sibtain Khan administered oath to the newly-elected members of the Punjab Assembly on Friday.
The PA session, presided over by Sibtain, began after a delay of more than two hours on Friday.
This is the maiden provincial assembly session after the February 8 general elections, wherein the newly-elected members have sworn-in.
At the outset of the delayed session, members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chanted slogans against each other and exchanged hot words.
PTI-backed candidate Imtiaz Sheikh reached the assembly hiding in a vehicle with black-tinted glasses. He laid low in the vehicle’s rear seat.
The SIC, which currently has 97 members inside the building, said its members were not being allowed to enter the assembly. Whereas, the PML-N has about 215 members there.
PML-N leader Azma Bokhari said that none of the members can speak unless they take an oath.
“The decision on some reserved seats is still not taken due to their ineligibility. We currently have a two-thirds majority after forming an alliance,” she said.
Bokhari said that her party respects the decision and wants to work with them.
“Sindh Assembly session is convened tomorrow and National Assembly session will also be called in a couple of days,” she said.
The Punjab Assembly is the first house to convene its opening session, out of five assemblies that went to the elections. The assembly meeting has faced a delay as it was scheduled to start at 10am today.
Scores of newly-elected PA members of different parties have arrived at the assembly including PML-N Senior Vice President and CM nominee Maryam Nawaz.
Talking to media persons outside the Punjab Assembly, Speaker Muhammad Sibtain Khan said the elected MPAs should not be prevented from attending the assembly session.
He admitted that some members got a level playing field while others were deprived of it.
To a query, he said he came too early as sessions had been delayed in the past up to six hours.
The speaker also said the election for the provincial assembly’s speaker and deputy speaker would be held on Saturday (tomorrow).
The PTI on its Twitter handle alleged that police were stopping its elected members from taking oath by participating in the PA session. Sharing a video, it also alleged they were standing there to arrest the PTI’s CM candidate Aslam Iqbal.
