Abbasi lashes out at NA speaker for not issuing production orders for MNAs

In his second letter to Asad Qaiser, ex-PM said the delay was a violation of basic principles of democracy

ISLAMABAD: In a second letter to Asad Qaiser, former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi expressed his disappointment over National Assembly speaker’s failure to issue production orders of arrested opposition members.

In his letter, penned on September 24 but made available on Friday, Abbassi shed light on the speaker's unresponsiveness to an earlier letter where Abbasi had urged the issuance of production orders of arrested members of parliament.

"I regret that I have not received a response to my letter," wrote Abbasi.

He further wrote that no production orders were issued for the address by the president to both houses assembled together under article 56(3) of the Constitution. In addition, no production orders were issued for the latest session of the National Assembly.

Photo: Express

Abbasi also accused the office of the speaker of engaging in deliberate delays over the issuance of the order and said this was a “violation of basic principles of democracy”.

"In order to protect the dignity of the office of the speaker from pressure exerted by the government, I will voluntarily not attend the proceedings of the House after the production orders are issues," said the letter.

Earlier, Abbasi had also submitted a statement wherein he claimed National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials were harassing his business associates and others, forcing them to become ‘approvers’ against the former prime minister.

Abbasi maintained that the inquiry against him was a “political vendetta and misuse of government institutions” to “demonise political opponents into submission and settling scores”.