By Mashal Khan 

ISLAMABAD: The ruling party Pakistan Muslim League government has arrested the key official of the Punjab Assembly ahead of the no-trust vote in the provincial Assembly against Speaker and Deputy Speaker, local media said.

The government has deployed a heavy contingent of police at the Assembly building equipped with riot control gear outside the gates, Dawn reported. 

No-trust motions are on the agenda against Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari, however, the government lost its majority in the house after the country Election Commission de-seated 25 dissident MPs of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf who voted for PML-N.

The session is scheduled to begin at 12:30pm, and Elahi has summoned lawmakers to arrive at the assembly half an hour before. Security was beefed up outside the assembly, DawnNewsTV reported, and television footage showed a contingent of police equipped with riot control gear outside the gates.

Ahead of the session, the police arrested an assembly official, according to a spokesperson for the Punjab Assembly.

The spokesperson confirmed reports of the arrest of Secretary Coordination Rai Mumtaz. In a statement, the spokesperson claimed that police officials entered Mumtaz's home after scaling the walls. It was not immediately clear on what charges the official was taken into custody.

“Stopping the Punjab Assembly session through police invasion is a violation of the Constitution. PTI strongly condemns this bullying by the Punjab administration. The judiciary should take immediate notice,” Fawad Chaudhry, former Information Minister and leader of PTI tweeted. 

Speaker Elahi condemned the police action and claimed that it was being carried out on the orders of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He also termed the government's actions "fascist".

"After violating the sanctity of the House, the government is making use of new tactics," he said, adding that the action against officials of the Punjab Assembly was proof that the government was “panicking" Dawn quoted Elahi as saying.

"The unconstitutional and fake government is taking steps against the Constitution and law," he stated, adding that the "true face" of the Sharifs had been unmasked before the people.

Former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema also condemned the situation and urged the high officials to take notice of the situation in Punjab.

"How long can the province of 120 million be bullied by this father-son [duo] and police," he said, adding that the public should not be forced to take to the streets to "free the province".