The Sergeant-at-Arms of Pakistan’s National Assembly, Ashfaq Ashraf, and four security personnel have been suspended following recent arrests on the parliament premises.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq took action after reviewing the security breach. Ashraf faces a four-month suspension for negligence. The other suspended staff include Security Assistant Waqas Ahmed and Junior Security Assistants Ubaidullah, Waheed Safdar, and Muhammad Haroon.
Read: Speaker Ayaz Sadiq Orders Immediate Release of Detained PTI Members
These suspensions occurred after a controversial session where various political party members, including those from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), criticized the late-night police intrusion into the assembly to arrest members, deeming it an attack on parliament.
Read: Ali Muhammad Khan Slams Police Raid on Parliament as Assault on Democracy
Opposition leader Omar Ayub called for accountability for the agency heads involved, emphasizing that such forceful actions are unacceptable in a democratic society.
Earlier on Tuesday, police stormed the parliament, detaining prominent PTI leaders such as Sahibzada Hamid Raza, head of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). This action followed PTI’s rally in the capital, which the government claimed violated new laws enacted just before the event, which aimed to demonstrate the party’s political strength.
Sources noted that before plainclothes officers entered, the lights inside the National Assembly were turned off. The arrests included PTI leaders Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, and Advocate Shoaib Shaheen, who were captured outside parliament.
Read: Islamabad Police Detain PTI Leaders Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Sher Afzal Marwat
Additionally, two security personnel stationed at the Parliament Service Centre were detained.
