The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had urged National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Tuesday to issue production orders for nine detained party lawmakers, including Khel and Kundi, ahead of the sessions of the National Assembly and Senate.
In a letter to the speaker, PTI Chief Whip Amir Dogar stated that nine party MNAs were currently in detention and requested that production orders be issued to enable them to attend the National Assembly session, which began on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Sadiq issued production orders for the two lawmakers under Rule 108 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007.
According to the orders, the speaker considered the presence of the two MNAs necessary for the National Assembly session, summoned by President Asif Ali Zardari on October 13. The orders noted that both lawmakers were in the custody of Punjab police.
The orders directed the relevant authorities to produce the lawmakers before the sergeant-at-arms at Parliament House in Islamabad at the commencement of each sitting of the National Assembly. Following the conclusion of each sitting, the lawmakers are to be returned to the custody of the authorities concerned.
The National Assembly Secretariat has circulated copies of the orders to the secretary of the Interior Ministry, Punjab’s chief secretary, additional chief secretary and additional home secretary, as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory chief commissioner and inspector general of police. The sergeant-at-arms was also provided with copies to ensure the necessary coordination and compliance.
The development comes after the federal government imposed emergency measures and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, citing what it described as the PTI-led provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from counterterrorism efforts.
Following the decision, several PTI leaders, including the province’s non-functional chief minister, Sohail Afridi, were taken into custody.
