PTI Seeks Production Orders for Nine Detained MNAs Ahead of NA Session
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has urged National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to issue production orders for its nine detained MNAs so they can attend the National Assembly session, escalating the parliamentary fight that has followed the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a letter to the NA speaker, PTI Chief Whip Amir Dogar claimed that the nine MNAs were currently detained and requested production orders under Rule 108 of the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure to enable them to attend the 30th session of the lower house.
The nine lawmakers named in the PTI production orders plea
Dogar’s letter names Haji Imtiaz Ahmad Choudhry, Muhammad Jamal Ahsan Khan, Mian Ghous Muhammad, Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel, Dawar Khan Kundi, Junaid Akbar, Amjad Ali Khan, Fazal Muhammad Khan and Adil Khan Bazai. The chief whip urged the speaker to take immediate notice of the matter and ensure the detained lawmakers’ attendance in the House.
Rule 108 allows detained members of parliament to attend sessions of the house on the speaker’s orders. The rule has been invoked repeatedly in Pakistan’s recent history, and the speaker’s decision on the request will test whether parliamentary privilege is extended to detained lawmakers during the current crisis.
Afridi’s brother moves PHC to trace his whereabouts
In a parallel development, the brother of the non-functional Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, Sohail Afridi, approached the Peshawar High Court to trace his whereabouts. Muhammad Amir filed a petition through senior counsel Bashir Khan Wazir, seeking directives to the KP inspector general of police, the Peshawar capital city police officer and other respondents to recover his brother and, if he was found to be in custody, produce him before the high court so the legality of his detention could be examined.
The petition contends that the detention was wholly illegal and without lawful authority, since the respondents had failed to disclose any lawful order, warrant or other legal authority under which Afridi was taken into custody.
Separately, Waqar Ahmad Khan, a cousin of KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, also filed a petition before the court seeking similar relief. His petition states that on October 11, at approximately 7pm, his relative was allegedly abducted by unknown, armed and masked individuals from the premises of the provincial assembly in Peshawar, in the presence of the CCPO Peshawar. The petition asks the court to verify the sequence of events through official records and eyewitness accounts.
Preventative custody confirmed a day after Oct 11
The federal government imposed emergency and governor’s rule in KP on October 11. On the same day, the PTI claimed that Afridi, along with some of his cabinet ministers and party leaders, had been abducted. The next day, officials confirmed that Afridi and some of his cabinet members were in preventative custody.
The whereabouts of the detained leadership have remained a sensitive point. Afridi’s CM House security in-charge was removed and police personnel withdrawn under governor’s rule, while PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has challenged the emergency proclamations in the Peshawar High Court.
The opposition has already vowed to fight the emergency on every front. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari offered the prime minister a dialogue route to end the KP emergency, while the joint opposition has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the emergency and called October 11 a black day for democracy.
What production orders would mean
If the speaker issues the orders, the nine detained MNAs would be produced before the National Assembly for the 30th session, strengthening the PTI’s voice in the house at a moment when it accuses the government of removing its elected government through constitutional force. The speaker’s response will be watched closely, since the treatment of detained lawmakers has long been a barometer of how much space the opposition is granted in parliament.
Frequently asked questions
What is PTI asking from the NA speaker?
The party has asked Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to issue production orders under Rule 108 of the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure for nine detained MNAs so they can attend the 30th session.
Who are the nine detained MNAs?
Haji Imtiaz Ahmad Choudhry, Muhammad Jamal Ahsan Khan, Mian Ghous Muhammad, Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel, Dawar Khan Kundi, Junaid Akbar, Amjad Ali Khan, Fazal Muhammad Khan and Adil Khan Bazai.
Why has Sohail Afridi’s brother moved the Peshawar High Court?
Muhammad Amir has asked the court to trace his brother’s whereabouts and, if Afridi is in custody, to produce him so the legality of his detention can be examined.
What happened on October 11?
The federal government imposed emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Articles 232 and 234. PTI claims its leaders were abducted that day; officials later said they were in preventative custody.
Tags: PTI production orders, detained MNAs, Ayaz Sadiq, National Assembly, Amir Dogar, Sohail Afridi, Peshawar High Court, KP emergency
