Mushahid demands Imran’s release

PTI’s Ijaz Chaudhry production order issued

ISLAMABD:

Calls for political reconciliation and the release of all political prisoner, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan reverberated in the Senate session on Friday, where several lawmakers, who would retire later this month, stressed the need for an end to bitter rivalries.

Moreover, the Senate Secretariat issued the production orders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Ijaz Chaudhry on Friday following a ruling given by the Deputy Senate Chairman Mirza Afridi. Senator Chaudhary would cast his vote in the presidential election at the Parliament House on Saturday (today).

The issue was raised by Mushahid Hussain Sayed of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He called for the release of former prime minister Imran Khan and the allocation of reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

In a speech just days before his retirement on the completion of six-year term, Sayed recalled that he had also advocated for the release of former president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani during the rule of late dictator General Pervez Musharraf.

Even today, I, first of all, demand that Imran Khan be released. He is a political prisoner,” he said, urging the new coalition government to take the country out of current economic challenges by bringing all political parties on one page.

Stressing the need for a “healing touch” and political dialogue to overcome all the differences, Sayed suggested to the new government to award general amnesty to all political prisoners. “And the reserved seats that the PTI deserves, it is their right and they should get it; they should not be deprived of it.”
Syed Muzzafar Hussain Shah called for empowering the Senate by giving it rights to manage financial matters of the country. He also suggested that the prime minister should be elected by both the houses of parliament. Tahir Bizinjo and Shafiq Tarar demanded also urged the resolution of all major issue.
Leader of the House Ishaq Dar urged the political parties to sign a ‘Charter of Economy’ to get the country out of the current financial trap. Expressing his dismay at the ruckus in the National Assembly in recent days, Dar urged political parties to work towards “reconciliation”.

Stating that he was a “big believer of reconciliation”, Dar recalled Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s call for national reconciliation. “A charter of democracy and a charter of economy are the need of time,” the PML-N stalwart asserted.

“There is also some unfinished agenda of that [Charter of Democracy signed in 2006], including the [formation of a] Truth and Reconciliation Commission [and] a constitutional court, absolutely needs to be implemented,” he added.

"We should avoid personal vengeance against each other and take the country forward collectively," said the Senator, adding that all political parties should work together to get Pakistan's name included in G-20 countries.

Senator Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), in his farewell speech, said that it was not appropriate to talk about the country, whose financial sovereignty was mortgaged with the international financial institutions.

He said it is also inappropriate to comment on a hybrid system over the parliament and internal politics of the country. He also urged all political parties to have a grand national dialogue to get the country part of international financial institution and hybrid political system