In a tumultuous session of the National Assembly following the administration of oaths to newly elected members, tensions ran high as Barrister Gohar Ali Khan voiced his party's grievances over alleged obstruction in their election campaign.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Khan, a PTI leader winning as an independent candidate, said people had sent them to the assembly by giving them a mandate, adding that they had a mandate as per Form 45, which he flashed to the speaker. He insisted that his party had won 180 seats in the assembly.
"No one can sit in the House without a public mandate," he remarked.
Gohar highlighted a Supreme Court judgement affirming that only those with a public mandate should hold seats in the assembly. "People give us the oath to fulfil our duties. Those sitting on the other side of the House are strangers," he remarked, claiming that the House was incomplete without the allocation of reserved seats for women.
However, the session was marred by disruptions and exchanges between members, when Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf gave the floor to PML-N's Khawaja Asif. The speaker intervened to maintain order and ensure all voices were heard.
"The entire country is watching you. You availed yourself of your chance; now let others speak," Speaker Ashraf urged the opposition members, telling them that the House could not be run if they only spoke and did not listen.
He reminded Barrister Gohar that when he was speaking, no one interjected, and urged him to listen to others quietly now, as it was not good to speak emotionally.
Despite calls for decorum, the atmosphere remained charged as Khawaja Asif engaged in a symbolic gesture, waving a watch in the assembly hall, saying this was why the opposition members linked to the PTI were creating a commotion.
He voiced concerns regarding the absence of a list from the Sunni Ittehad Council, saying they could not submit a new list now. Amid constant sloganeering and protests by the PTI-backed members, he took off his watch and waved it in the air.
Asif was referring to the allegations of theft against former prime minister Imran Khan regarding a watch he had received from Saudi Arabia when he was the prime minister. As per the allegations, Imran Khan did not deposit the watch and other gifts in the Toshakhana state repository and instead sold it off.
The speaker then adjourned the session till 10am on Friday.
