ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) on Thursday suspended PTI lawmaker Muhammad Iqbal Khan Afridi for the entire upcoming budget session, with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq accusing him of repeatedly violating the sanctity of the House through “inappropriate and unparliamentary” conduct. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will present the federal budget for the next fiscal year (FY26–27) in the NA on Friday. “Iqbal Khan has violated the sanctity of the House multiple times through his inappropriate and unparliamentary behaviour,” the speaker said. He added that multiple complaints had been received about the lawmaker’s abuse of NA employees. Sadiq said the MNA had also behaved improperly with the NA’s director general (media) and security officials. “No leniency can be shown to such a member,” he remarked, before directing the sergeant-at-arms to remove the lawmaker from the hall. The speaker further alleged that Khan had misbehaved with security personnel outside Parliament and had been involved in a scuffle with police at a checkpoint near Serena Hotel. “Through his threatening conduct, Muhammad Iqbal Khan has undermined all parliamentary traditions,” he said, adding that the member had “misused his office”. The MNA has been barred from entering Parliament House and its premises for the duration of the budget session. The suspension followed a motion moved by PML-N legislator Farah Naz Akbar, which the House approved by a majority vote. “During the proceedings of the National Assembly on April 3, 2026, Muhammad Iqbal Khan, MNA, was observed using abusive language towards the director general media of the National Assembly Secretariat and issuing threats. On multiple occasions, he has also misbehaved with police and security personnel deployed for security duties within the Secretariat as well as with the chair.” “Furthermore, on May 13, 2026, he undermined the authority of the chair and lowered the dignity of Parliament by using abusive and threatening language against fellow members, thereby disrupting the decorum and discipline of the House. His conduct is unbecoming of a parliamentarian as he has repeatedly violated the sanctity of the House, disregarded the authority of the chair and willfully obstructed the proceedings and contravention of the rules. “In view of the above, I hereby name him under Rule 21 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 2007,” the motion read out by Farah said. The speaker elaborated that the suspended MNA would not receive any allowances, including travelling and daily allowances, for the session. “Leave the House yourself; if you do not leave yourself, security personnel will forcibly take you out,” Sadiq told Afridi, who later left the House. Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry informed the House that Iqbal Afridi’s son had applied for political asylum in Italy on a blue passport. The speaker referred the matter to the Standing Committee on Interior. The sitting began under the speaker’s chairmanship but was briefly adjourned after Afridi pointed out the lack of quorum at the outset. Members were counted and the House was found short of the required number. When the session resumed, Afridi again raised the issue of quorum. This time the count was complete. On his third attempt, the speaker ignored the call. “A quorum cannot be pointed out every half hour,” Sadiq said. “Even quorum has rules.” When PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan sought the floor during the proceedings, the speaker said Afridi “would not be forgiven” if PTI members backed him. Speaking in the House, Gohar said the PTI was the “largest party among 175 parties” and demanded a ruling from the speaker on arranging a meeting with its “founding chairman”, as opposition members staged a walkout from the NA. Gohar said the party had earlier demanded a committee of the House under Syed Khursheed Shah. “When members of Parliament’s issues are not resolved, then who do we talk to?” he asked. He added that the committee had met twice and no meeting had been called since. “For the past 34 weeks, we have not been allowed to meet the founder,” he said. “We still miss Omar Ayub, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Zartaj Gul and others today,” he added, referring to key PTI leaders sentenced last year to 10 years in prison in a case pertaining to the May 9, 2023 riots. “We want a ruling from the speaker on this matter,” Gohar said. “If our voice is not heard, then we have called a joint parliamentary party meeting. If we are not heard, then we will decide the future.” He asked the speaker to decide by tomorrow whether a meeting would be arranged or not. Following his speech, opposition members walked out of the House in protest. Responding to the point, Sadiq said: “If they were members of the National Assembly, I would have issued their production orders.” He said that three meetings had been arranged. “You yourselves broke that chain,” the speaker said, adding that the government no longer wanted to talk either. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif called on all political parties to respect the sanctity of Parliament, warning that political disputes should not be allowed to weaken democratic institutions. Speaking in the National Assembly, he said leaders of the PPP and PML-N had endured imprisonment and political victimisation in the past but “never compromised on the dignity of Parliament”. Despite facing legal and political challenges, he said, they used constitutional and legal forums for protest rather than disrupting institutions. Members of the Sharif family, too, had faced court cases, “but the democratic system was not undermined”, he added. Taking aim at the PTI, the defence minister said the party had disrupted House proceedings for the past two years by tying its participation to its leader’s imprisonment. “Institutions and the country are more important than individuals. Personalities come and go, but Pakistan remains,” he said. Asif said parties were within their rights to seek legal and political relief for their leaders, but blocking parliamentary business weakened democracy. Legislation, he stressed, was Parliament’s core responsibility and protests must remain within democratic norms. He claimed that many PTI lawmakers also wanted smooth proceedings, but repeated disruptions had damaged Parliament’s credibility.