LAHORE, May 22(ABC): The much-anticipated Punjab Assembly session scheduled for today by Pervaiz Elahi has been postponed till June 6. The session was adjourned within six minutes of it starting after a delay of two hours on Sunday.
MPAs reached the PA to attend the meeting previously scheduled to begin at 12:30pm. However, the session couldn’t be started on time as the lawmakers were stopped from entering the premises.
Security had been tightened around the Assembly amid rising political tensions in Lahore on Sunday morning. PA Speaker Pervaiz Elahi called the session today, while cancelling the previous date of the assembly session scheduled for May 30.
The political situation intensified Sunday morning with the arrest of PA Director General for Parliamentary Affairs Rai Mumtaz after the announcement of an emergency session. The police was directed to stay on high alert and a heavy police force was deputed in the surroundings of the provincial assembly.
Police also barricaded different spots on Lahore’s Mall Road, including the routes leading from CM House and Aiwan-e-Iqbal to the PA.
Earlier, the administration had closed the doors of the PA, while barbed wires were placed in front of the assembly building. Punjab Assembly staff said that even they are not allowed to enter the Assembly building.
Due to strict arrangements, even the security team of Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz wasn’t allowed to enter the assembly. Meanwhile, PML-N decided to send only 15 to 20 MPAs inside the PA in the first phase as soon as the gates open.
Sources said that the allied parties’ members would take media representatives inside the building due to reports of presence of unauthorised individuals in the assembly.