Khaqan accuses Qaiser of intentionally keeping jailed MPs away from NA

The jailed leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday left Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar red-faced for his alleged partisan approach in the house, accusing him of intentionally keeping the jailed MPs away from the house by delaying issuance of their production orders.

Abbasi, a former prime minister who is currently incarcerated in connection with the liquefied natural gas (LNG) scandal, came to the National Assembly after his production orders were issued and staged a walkout in protest against non-issuance of a fellow parliamentarian Rana Sanaullah's production orders.

He claimed that he has been attending the sitting not because of the NA Speaker's production orders but because of the court's ruling.

"I won't beg you [Speaker] for a production order and I'm going back," he said before leaving the house in protest.

Abbasi disclosed that he had written three letters to the NA Speaker, seeking the issuance of production orders for all the jailed opposition members.

"I will place your reply in the NA Library for record which you had sent through a section officer telling me that only you have the powers to issue production orders," he said while addressing the speaker.

"You have asked me to go to the court. I have great respect for the chair even if you have no respect (for your office)."

"I have seen speakers like Fakhar Imam, Mairaj Khalid and Yousuf Raza Gilani who made no compromise on principles and their powers. If you have pressure from somewhere, please tell us," he questioned.

Abbasi noted that five members of the National Assembly are currently in jail without conviction, adding it is the duty of the speaker to issue production orders for each and every member without discrimination at the start of each session.

"Denying production orders means negation of the people's rights...my production order carries the date of December 4 but I have been brought here today (December 10). Do you have the courage to take notice of the non-implementation of your orders?" he questioned.

Abbasi asked the speaker whether he had read the court decision in the case against NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri which states that the people of a constituency "could not be denied their right of representation in the assembly."

"Issue the production order of Rana Sanaullah and I am going," Abbasi said and staged a walkout from the house.

The speaker said that he had issued Abbasi's production orders on his application which is on record, but Abbasi insisted that he had requested the speaker for issuing production orders for all jailed MPs.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar defended the speaker and praised him for running the house strictly in accordance with the rules.

"If you need any support from the government, we will provide you," he told Qaiser, accusing the opposition of having "double standard."

"Sometimes they quote rules and sometimes they refer to the traditions, whichever suit them. They should decide once for all whether the house should be run under the rules or by following traditions," he said to the opposition.

Minister for Power Division Omar Ayub Khan expressed the government's commitment to provide cheap electricity to consumers and about 8,000 megawatts will be generated through solar and wind energy projects by 2025 at a rate of less than Rs 6.5 per unit.

He was responding to a call attention notice regarding charging of fuel surcharge in electricity bills from the people of Malakand region despite generation of electricity through four power houses in the area.

Omar Ayub Khan said, "We are pursuing a policy to generate 70 to 80 percent of energy from domestic resources to provide cheap electricity to consumers."

He said the government is following an equitable distribution of resources, including energy, among all parts of the country. He said, "We have allocated Rs 54 billion in the budget to provide relief to those consumers who use less than 300 units a month."