MPAs on reserved seats in Punjab Assembly take oath amid rumpus
Pakistan
The session time was changed to 9am from earlier 3pm
LAHORE (Dunya News) – The MPAs who entered the portals of the Punjab Assembly on reserved seats on Friday took oath amid protest by the opposition.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan administered oath to 21 women and three MPAs who became part of the assembly on reserved seats.
Earlier, the Punjab government changed the time of the session to 9am on Friday (today). The session was originally convened at 3pm.
Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman called the session after a summary was issued by the Punjab government to change the timing.
Women and minority members who took oath
Among the women who took oath on the reserved seats included Abida Bushra, Maqsoodan Bibi, Amara Khan, Sadia Muzaffar, Faza Maimoona, Somia Ata, Rahat Afza, Rukhsana Shafiq, Tahseen Fawad, Farzana Abbas, Shagufta Faisal and Uzmi Butt.
Other women who took oath are Zeba Ghafoor, Rubina Nazir, Syeda Samira Ahmed, Maria Talal, Sajida Naveed, Nasreen Riaz, Afshan Hasan, Amna Parveen, and Shehr Bano. Among the minority members Tariq Masih, Waseem Anjum, and Basruji took oath.
Opposition protest
On the other hand, Punjab Assembly opposition leader Rana Aftab Khan criticised the government for changing the time of the session, alleging that the government was creating hurdles for the new members nominated on reserved seats in taking an oath.
The PTI leader said the opposition members would be in the Punjab Assembly even if the session was called at the time of Fajr.
New members nominated on reserved seats after the Election Commission ruling will take oath in the meeting.
The votes of these members will be cast in the presidential election on March 9.
Earlier, the meeting of the Punjab Assembly was called for the oath-taking of members, the election of the speaker and deputy speaker and then the chief minister.
