Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that opposition would approach the Supreme Court if the speaker National Assembly does not issue production orders for the detained members of the House. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Friday, Asif said, "Parliament is big forum for us and we want to maintain its dignity and respect. Mr. Speaker, the doors of Parliament should not be closed for us. If we did not get relief under the law from the Parliament then we have to approach the Supreme Court for this purpose. And we will feel disgraced to approach the court by leaving a big forum of the Parliament."
Addressing the speaker, he said the Supreme Court had given a judgment in favor of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi when he was in prison in 2002. He said that the opposition would invoke the judgment of the Supreme Court for the production orders of former president Asif Ali Zardari, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Saeed Rafiq and Rana Sanaullah.
Speaker National Assembly Asad Qasir said that he has issued production orders in such a huge number which had not been issued in the past. Asif replied abruptly that so many MPs had not been detained in the past. He said if the speaker had issued production orders of the members then protest was not staged during the presidential address on Thursday last.
Asif said that according to media reports, the government is going to file a reference against the chief election commission. He said, "The President of Pakistan has no authority under the Constitution in this regard and if the President does so, he will violate the Constitution."
He asked where the change is, saying the PTI government is going to lay four ordinances in the House. "The PTI government is following the previous governments. One year has been passed, the neat and clean people are running the government and corruption has been stopped then why the economy of the country is plummeting instead of progressing. The country has economically reached at the edge of destruction. The lives of the people are miserable due to price hike," he said.
Responding to Khawaja Asif who raised the issue of production orders for detained assembly members, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the issue is directly related to the speaker National Assembly and should have been discussed in his chamber.
The minister said the opposition protested throughout the speech of the President during the joint session of the Parliament on Thursday last and made production orders a priority issue instead of giving preference to Kashmir. Earlier on a point of order, MNA Asad Umer took up the issue regarding the statement of PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari delivered on the floor of the House during a previous session, about the people who migrated to Pakistan from areas which are now in India.
He said Muslims living in areas now in India made a great contribution with regard to creation of Pakistan. He said these Muslims had helped Muslim League win elections of Central Legislative Assembly in 1946, adding all 30 seats for Muslims in the legislature were won by Muslim League. Muslim League also won majority seats in the provincial assemblies at that time, he added.
He said the Muslims achieved their own country and were saved from the tyranny of Hindus who are now mistreating the Muslims in India. Asad warned that people should not be divided on the basis of religion, ethnicity and language. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan assured the House that the cabinet would discuss the issue of working journalists who are not getting salaries despite release of advertisement dues to media owners by the government. He said he would talk to Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on this issue.
He said that media owners get 85 percent advertisements from private sector and 15 percent from the government so their excuses were not valid, he added. PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf said that Asif Zardari wanted to explain his statement on Sindh on the floor of the House. He said there is no law and order situation and economy of Sindh is in better shape so there should not be talk about imposing Article 149 of the Constitution to give direct control of Karachi to the federal government.
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