Gandapur leads PTI convoy to Lahore as party rallies behind suspended MPAs

ISLAMABAD: A convoy of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentarians, led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, is set to depart from Islamabad for Lahore to express solidarity with party members of the Punjab Assembly whose membership has been suspended.

On June 27, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan suspended 26 opposition MPAs after their protest disrupted Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s speech and caused a ruckus in the House. He also filed a disqualification reference with the Election Commission of Pakistan, citing their “unparliamentary conduct.”

Ahead of the departure, Gandapur stated that the convoy’s purpose was purely to express solidarity with the suspended lawmakers. “Those who think we are going for a protest should know this is just an expression of solidarity,” he clarified.

Also read: Rifts deepen within PTI over KP senate elections

PTI members of the national and provincial assemblies gathered at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad before setting out.

Addressing the meeting, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the Lahore visit was intended solely for talks. They stressed that there was no plan to engage in unconstitutional activity, nor was there any risk of arrests.

Gandapur reiterated that the convoy carried a message of peace, unity, and democratic values. “Our goal is not chaos but to protect democracy,” he said.

The delegation is also expected to hold meetings in Lahore to discuss the party’s future political strategy and the upcoming Senate elections.

Meanwhile, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan has formed an eight-member committee to address the disqualification references filed against the suspended PTI lawmakers.

The development follows a meeting between the speaker and the 26 suspended PTI MPAs.

The committee comprises chief whip Rana Arshad, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman, Khawaja Salman Rafique, Samiullah Khan, and Ahmad Iqbal from the PML-N; Ali Haider Gillani from the Pakistan People’s Party; Chaudhry Shafay Hussain from the Pakistan Muslim League; and Shoaib Siddiqui from the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party.