In compliance with the recent verdict given by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan on Friday suspended the membership of 27 Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) on reserved seats.

The new political downturn sends a severe blow to PML-N and PPP that has comes in response to the apex court’s decision to overturn the allocation of reserved seats by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The suspension, which took effect immediately, was met with appeal from the opposition lawmakers, who applauded the speaker’s decision during the session. The ruling coalition suffered a major setback, losing 24 women lawmakers and three minority MPAs.

Among the suspended MPAs are 23 from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), two from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and one each from IPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).

The decision has reshaped the political landscape in the Punjab Assembly, with the PML-N’s strength decreasing from 226 to 203 MPs. This shift follows the ECP’s acceptance of opposition parties’ applications, which led to a redistribution of reserved seats based on proportional representation.