Ten arrested PTI leaders attend NA session after speaker issues production orders

Ten members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who were arrested during a late-night raid at the Parliament House earlier this week were presented in the National Assembly on Thursday, following the issuance of their production orders.

The raid, which took place around 3 am on Tuesday, involved plainclothes personnel who cut the power supply and stormed the Services Branch of the Parliament House, arresting at least 10 PTI legislators.

In response to the incident and the uproar it caused within the assembly, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq sanctioned the suspension of five security staff members for four months and ordered the transfer of five Capital Development Authority (CDA) officials on deputation for their involvement in disconnecting the building’s power. 

Additionally, a four-member committee, headed by Additional Secretary Iftikhar Ahmad, has been formed to investigate the breach in security and the unauthorised access within Parliament.

The arrested MNAs, 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 Islamabad police.

Footage shared on social media platform X by PTI showed MNA 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.

On the National Assembly floor, Sher Afzal Marwat, a prominent PTI figure, expressed gratitude to the speaker for issuing production orders but criticised the police for confiscating his personal belongings, including a pistol and five Kalashnikov rifles. 

He rejected the charges filed against him, claiming he was 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 law have been violated," he said, questioning how the police were able to arrest MNAs within Parliament and alleging that law enforcement had no legal authority to do so. He also expressed concerns over how the police gained access to the lawmakers' lodges.

In a separate legal development, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) placed the 10 MNAs on judicial remand after suspending an earlier decision that granted police their physical custody. 

The decision came after the Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) had ordered an eight-day physical remand of 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 petitions from the detained legislators. The prosecutor general expressed concerns that suspending the remand could send the wrong message. However, Justice Farooq dismissed the concerns, questioning the impact of upholding the physical custody order.

The court temporarily suspended the ATC’s remand decision and issued notices to the Islamabad advocate general. The hearing is set to resume tomorrow.