Ten members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who were arrested during a night raid on Parliament earlier this week were produced in the National Assembly on Thursday, after their production orders were issued.
The raid, which took place around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, involved plainclothes personnel cutting off power supply and storming the service branch of Parliament, arresting at least 10 PTI lawmakers.
In response to the incident and the outcry it caused within the Assembly, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq sanctioned the suspension of five security personnel for four months and ordered the transfer of five officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on deputation for their involvement in the disconnection. the power of the building.
Besides, a four-member committee, headed by additional secretary Iftikhar Ahmad, was formed to probe the security breach and unauthorized access to Parliament.
The arrested MLAs, including Sher Afzal Marwat, Malik Amir Dogar, Ahmed Chattha, Zain Qureshi, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Zubair Khan Wazir, Awais Haider Jakhar, Syed Ahad Ali Shah, Nasim Ali Shah and Yousuf Khan Khattak, were brought to the assembly. under tight security by the Islamabad police.
Footage shared on social media platform X by PTI showed MP Ali Muhammad Khan welcoming his detained colleagues as they arrived at the assembly. Chants of “Imran Khan” echoed as the lawmakers, including Dogar, Marwat and Qureshi, emerged from the police vehicle.
In the National Assembly, Sher Afzal Marwat, a prominent PTI figure, expressed gratitude to the President for issuing production orders but criticized the police for confiscating his personal belongings, including a pistol and five Kalashnikov rifles.
He rejected the accusations against him, saying he had been falsely accused of tearing a police officer’s uniform.
Opposition leader Omar Ayub strongly condemned the raid on Parliament by masked men, calling for an investigation.
“The Constitution and the law have been violated,” he said, questioning how police could have arrested MPs inside Parliament and alleging that law enforcement had no legal authority to do so. . He also expressed concerns about how police were able to gain access to lawmakers’ boxes.
In another legal development, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) remanded the 10 MLAs in judicial custody after suspending an earlier order granting their physical custody to the police.
The decision came after the Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) ordered an eight-day remand against the lawmakers, rejecting the police’s request for a 17-day remand.
During the IHC hearing, Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz considered the petitions of the detained legislators. The attorney general expressed concern that suspending pretrial detention would send the wrong message. However, Justice Farooq dismissed these concerns, questioning the impact of maintaining the physical custody order.
The court temporarily stayed the ATC’s remand order and issued notices to the Advocate General, Islamabad. The hearing is expected to resume tomorrow.