ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Thursday banned the entry of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Qadir Khan Mandokhel to the National Assembly for a day over his “unparliamentary behaviour” during Wednesday’s joint sitting of parliament.

       According to an official handout of the National Assembly Secretariat, Mr Mando-khel could not attend the assembly’s session on Friday after the decision of the speaker.

       Mr Mandokhel, who was elected on a seat from Karachi vacated by Faisal Vawda of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), was seen exchanging hot words with the speaker at a time when opposition members were protesting against him for not giving the floor to PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to speak on the controversial legislations which the government managed to pass through the joint sitting.

       Mr Mandokhel had passed some remarks, which could not be heard in the galleries, that made the speaker angry and he even had asked the sergeant-at-arms to take him out of the assembly hall.

       The speaker was about to issue the orders of his suspension, but then showed restraint. The PPP MNA could not be contacted for his comments. Mr Qaiser issued the order on the day the opposition members lashed out at him for allegedly conducting the joint sitting of the parliament in a partisan manner.

       The opposition has already hinted at tabling a no-confidence motion against the speaker.

       Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2021