Boycotting PTI Lawmakers Return to National Assembly, Join Legislative Business
ISLAMABAD — Just a day after walking out in protest over the conviction of party leaders in the May 9 riots cases, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) members were back in the National Assembly on Tuesday, taking part in the private members’ day proceedings and allowing the house to complete a packed legislative agenda.
The session, chaired by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, saw the passage of five bills and the introduction of 16 more. On Monday, PTI lawmakers had staged a noisy demonstration and boycott over the convictions, but on Tuesday they returned — not without drama.
At the start of the sitting, PTI members, led by Asad Qaiser, again staged a brief walkout after being denied the floor to move a privilege motion over their inability to meet party founder Imran Khan at Adiala Jail. As they left, chanting slogans, Speaker Sadiq renewed his offer to facilitate talks between the government and opposition, even naming Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, and veteran PPP MNA Syed Naveed Qamar to represent the government side.
The speaker invited PTI to nominate two of their own members for the dialogue and suggested they could make permission to meet Imran Khan a condition of negotiations. “Dialogue is the only way to resolve political differences,” he said, recalling past mediation efforts and urging all parties to use parliament — the “grand jirga” — to settle disputes.
PTI’s Aamir Dogar argued that blocking five lawmakers from visiting Imran Khan was a breach of privilege. Mr Qaiser also objected to the non-inclusion of his private member bill allowing appeals for civilians convicted by military courts, but Law Minister Tarar said the proposal was under review, and the government might bring its own version.
After PTI’s short absence, the assembly moved on to legislation — including bills tabled by PTI members themselves. Speaker Sadiq noted their return with some surprise, prompting Riaz Fatyana to clarify they had staged only “a token walkout” before coming back with the party’s approval to move their bills.
The house passed five pieces of legislation, among them:
- Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2025
- National Institute of Health (Re-organisation) (Amendment) Bill, 2025
- Acid and Burn Crime Bill, 2024
- Reservation of Special Seats for Deserving Persons in Universities Bill, 2024
- Zakat and Ushr (Amendment) Bill, 2025
Sixteen new bills were introduced, including a constitutional amendment from Riaz Fatyana seeking the creation of a new province, West Punjab, made up of Faisalabad and Sahiwal divisions — the first time such a proposal has formally reached parliament. The assembly has previously debated South Punjab and Hazara provinces, but not this one.
Other bills tabled included the Public Interest Disclosures (Amendment) Bill, the Guardians and Wards (Amendment) Bill, the Prevention of Obscenity and Indecency in Digital Media Bill, and the Multi-Vendor Electricity Distribution Bill.
In the later part of the session, several PPP lawmakers from Sindh, including Nabeel Gabol from Lyari, voiced strong protests over prolonged power outages in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.
The National Assembly will reconvene today (Wednesday) at 11am.
Published in Daily Pak, August 13th, 2025
