PESHAWAR: Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Babar Saleem Swati, on Saturday offered an unconditional apology to the House, admitting his mistake over allowing Chief Minister Sohail Afridi's security guard, Arif Khattak, to enter the assembly hall and raise political slogans during the previous sitting.

The assembly session began under the chairmanship of Speaker Babar Saleem Swati. During the proceedings, Opposition Leader Dr Ibadullah Khan raised the issue before the budget debate, calling it an unprecedented incident in the parliamentary history of the provincial assembly.

He said that since 2013, slogan chanting had been confined to the visitors' gallery, but during the previous session, "the sanctity of the House was violated." He argued that the Chief Minister's decision to summon his personal security guard into the assembly hall had undermined the privilege of all lawmakers.

Dr Ibadullah said it was the Speaker's constitutional and procedural responsibility to safeguard the dignity of the House. He questioned whether other members would also be allowed to bring their security personnel into the assembly to raise political slogans, adding that the assembly represented nearly 40 million people and its rules must be respected.

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He further stated that the Chief Minister's action had not only compromised the House's dignity but had also jeopardised the future of the security guard, urging the relevant department to take disciplinary action against the official. He added that while the guard might have been unaware of parliamentary rules, the Speaker was expected to know and enforce them.

Responding to the criticism, Speaker Babar Saleem Swati acknowledged the seriousness of the issue, saying the opposition leader had raised an important point. He noted that although the assembly had recently introduced amendments to its rules after 51 years, the incident marked the first such occurrence in the province's parliamentary history.

The Speaker admitted that his own security staff had initially stopped the guard from entering, but he had personally granted permission. "Good people are those who admit their mistakes," he said, adding that he had already initiated proceedings over the matter.

"I accept my mistake and apologise unconditionally to the House," the Speaker said, expressing hope that members would accept his apology. He also announced that, in future, only authorised persons would be allowed to sit in the assembly galleries, although students would continue to be permitted for educational visits under proper arrangements.

The controversy stems from the previous assembly session, during which Chief Minister Sohail Afridi invited his personal security guard, Arif Khattak, into the House while addressing lawmakers. Defending the guard, the Chief Minister said some people had unfairly targeted him despite the security official's role in protecting former prime minister Imran Khan. Following the remarks, Arif Khattak chanted slogans in support of Imran Khan inside the assembly.

The incident drew strong criticism from opposition members, who condemned the entry of an unauthorised individual into the House and described it as a violation of parliamentary norms. The matter also sparked widespread debate in national and social media.