10 arrested PTI MNAs reach Parliament after Speaker’s production orders

Ten PTI members of the National Assembly who were arrested on Monday night reached the Parliament House on Thursday afternoon a day after Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq issued their production orders, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The ten PTI MNAs including Waqas Akram Sheikh, Zain Qureshi, Malik Awais Jhakkar, Malik Amir Dogar, Sher Afzal Marwat, Zubair Khan, Wazir Syed Ahad Ali Shah, Naseem Ali Shah, Yousaf Khan and Ahmad Chattha arrived at the Parliament House.

The 10 PTI MNA were handed over to the acting sergeant-at-arms Farhat Abbas at the Parliament’s gate no. 5 where security men were standing alert.

The PTI MNAs landed at the Pariament House about one and a half house after the National Assembly session began.

The security staff led the PTI lawmakers straight to Speaker Ayaz Sadiq's chamber where they held a meeting with the custodian of the parliament.

Interior Minsiter Mohsin Naqvi also reached the speaker's chamber

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__IFLQWn4ZA 

Suspended NA security staff on duty

The notification, issued by the National Assembly (NA) Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq yesterday, in which he had suspended the assembly’s security personnel for failing to prevent the arrests of PTI MNAs from the Parliament House, became ineffective as those staffers returned to work on the very next day – Thursday.    

Waqas Ahmad, a security assistant, was one of those who had been suspended but performed his duty today.

The speaker had suspended five security officials for four months.

According to an “office order” issued by the NA secretariat on Wednesday, Sergeant-at-Arms (BPS-20) Muhammad Ishfaq Ashraf was suspended “with immediate effect for a period of 120 days”. “During the period of his suspension, he will be entitled to draw pay and allowances as admissible under the applicable rules,” the order read.

The order said the action was taken under rule 5(1) (suspension and leave) of the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020.

Under the said rule, the appointing authority “may place any civil servant under suspension or send him on leave, against whom proceedings are proposed to be initiated for an initial period” of 120 days at one time.

In a separate notice, the suspension orders for Security Assistant Waqas Ahmed (grade-14 official) as well as three junior security assistants (grade-9 officials) — namely Obaidullah, Muhammad Waheed Safdar and Muhammad Haroon — were also issued.

IHC overturns physical remand of PTI leaders

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday suspended the trial court’s decision to grant physical remand of PTI leaders to the police.

IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Summan Rifaat heard the petitions filed by the party MNAs and others.

During the hearing, the chief justice remarked that if the court gave any order, the suspects would be deemed to be on a judicial remand. “The court’s decision in the case cannot stay. But what will be the situation if it stays?” the judge questioned.

Speaking on the occasion, the petitioners’ lawyer argued that the court should not have remanded his clients in police custody for such a long duration. “The court has also not jotted down the reasons for its decision,” he added.

The CJ then asked the prosecutor how he would defend the court decision.

The prosecutor then read out the FIRs registered against the MNAs.

Later, the court adjourned the case’s hearing until tomorrow.

Police had arrested PTI leaders after cases were registered against them following the party's rally at Sangjani, Islamabad on September 8.

Reporters Tayyab Saif, Usman Khan and Ehtesham Kiyani