PTI lawmakers return to NA, narrate ordeal

Raid on parliament continues to dominate proceedings

ISLAMABAD:

Ten PTI lawmakers detained under a freshly-inked protest law on Thursday returned to the National Assembly in compliance with the orders of Speaker Ayaz Sadiq issued a day earlier, as eyebrows were raised over the way the police and plainclothesmen dared to insult parliament under his "watch".

The legislators, which sits in the National Assembly under the banner of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), poured their hearts out by delivering fiery speeches, narrating the details of raids and misbehaviour committed with them and regretted that the privilege of the house and members was breached uninterrupted amid all this.

The 10 PTI MPs, including PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, chief whip Aamir Dogar, Sher Afzal Marwat, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Zain Qureshi, Zubair Khan Wazir, Ahmed Chattha, Awais Haider Jakhar, Syed Ahad Ali Shah, Nasim Ali Shah, and Yousuf Khan Khattak were arrested on Monday night from the Parliament House on September 10 and charged with the protest and anti-terrorism laws. The lawmakers were brought to parliament in a van and taken to the speaker's office before they enter the assembly.

Some of the lawmakers detained after they attended a rally in Islamabad in support of jailed former premier Imran Khan lauded the speaker's decision to issue their production orders but some wondered how it all happened 'in his kingdom'.

At one moment, the speaker was compelled to say that he was thinking if he should be in the chair anymore as every other member was conveying sentiments as if he had a role in Monday night's mayhem.

PTI chief whip Aamir Dogar didn't mince words when he regretted that the speaker appeared "helpless" when the lawmakers were being humiliated and the sanctity of the parliament eroded, wondering when the lawmakers were not able to protect themselves in parliament then how come they can we protect their constituents. "If they [police and plain-clothed masked men] have entered the house, then the day is not far when they will come to arrest you from this chair," he told the speaker in his face.

The other night, Dogar lamented that the PTI MNAs were told that closed doors and chained gates can't be opened but when the masked men stormed the building around 3am, everything was opened for them and they disconnected even the power supply to make final round of arrests.

Responding to the speaker's resignation thought, Dogar ended his speech with a couplet, which conveys that it's better to starve to death than compromising on one's principles. Dogar shocked the house when he revealed that over 8,000 cases against PTI leaders were registered in the last two years.

Other lawmakers also said that suspending or transferring low-ranking officials wouldn't serve any purpose if the actual perpetrators were not brought to justice after a thorough probe, saying September 10 should be declared a 'black day' and every effort should be made to regain the lost space.

Opposition Leader Omar Ayub went a step ahead by saying that the intelligence agencies were involved in the raid on assembly and arresting the lawmakers, saying they searched all the rooms on Monday night. "How dare they humiliate members of parliament," he thundered on the floor of the house, asking who allowed them to search parliament if not allowed by the custodian of the house. He said that parliament should be closed and the people's representatives should go if the intelligence agencies have to rule and command.

It's not about suspending the Sargent-at-Arms, he said, asking the speaker to send directions to the prime minister and the army chief, as the agencies report to them, to inquire who ordered or allowed intelligence officials to enter into parliament. He demanded that the IG police should be summoned as the speaker has said that that nothing happened with his permission but the IGP had claimed that due process was followed before arresting the lawmakers.

Sher Afzal Marwat, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Zain Qureshi, among others, also spoke in the house. Sheikh reminded the speaker that the humiliation of the lawmakers was one thing but the insult of parliament was something which shouldn't be taken lightly as the raids have damaged the prestige of the house.

Sheikh revealed that the raiders, who had come all the way to the fourth floor to arrest Zain Qureshi and him, were holding torch lights after switching off electricity of the entire building. Marwat narrated how police misbehaved with him and threatened him with "encounter", saying he was detained in a storeroom for hours. On the issue of police's protest seeking permission to lead operation against the militants instead of military, Marwat said that just one month should be given to the police as, after that, either "we will stay or the militants but the army should go back now".

 

Maulana opposes extensions

 

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman condemned the raids and arrests, saying the incident didn't just take place with opposition lawmakers but with the whole parliament as the house's privilege was breached. "This house should've been closed for at least three days as a protest against the incident," the JUI-F said.

Highlighting how the law and order situation was worsening in Lakki Marwat, Bannu, DI Khan, Bajaur and other areas, Maulana wondered why the high-ups concerned were not taking the matters seriously because if the police also back out following the protests, then where things will go.

Instead of realising the gravity of the situation, Maulana lamented, the government was busy mulling constitutional amendments and the bigwigs of the institutions were worried about their extensions. "The process of extension is wrong if it is within the army, wrong if it is within the judiciary, wrong if it is within the civil bureaucracy," Maulana said and quipped that parliament could also asked for an extension as it's the supreme institution among all. He, however, emphasised that such traditions are not good.

Amid speculations that the JUI-F could also support government on constitutional amendments, Maulana Fazl said that his party's position is absolutely clear as it is an opposition party, will continue to play the role of an opposition party and would not allow laying the foundation of yet another wrong tradition. He recalled how Gen Musharraf had increased judges' age to 68 years through the LFO and how it was reduced back to 65 years, saying the PPPP had criticised him and his party back then on the age limit issue but how would they support such a move now.

Calling the judicial system "outdated" and referring to how decisions are dictated by powerful groups, Maulana said that the courts are divided into lobbies and it was time to form a committee to decide how the court system should function. He also questioned why there were different standards for the appointments of chiefs of high courts, the Supreme Court and the army, saying the parameters were different everywhere. He then reminded the house how a military chief forcefully extracted an extension from the assembly.

In his speech, he also suggested establishing a separate court for deciding cases of constitutional matters so that the backlog of 60,000 doesn't further increase. He also urged the house to truly make parliament a supreme forum by restoring peoples' confidence in it. "Parliament is more supreme, than the judiciary and the army."

When the speaker reminded that the constitution doesn't allow criticism on army and judiciary, Maulana quipped he hasn't criticized but suggesting improvement, saying the generals and judges were crowns of our heads. He then added that the judges and generals should respect their limits too.

For the appointment of CJP, he also suggested that the judicial council and parliamentary committee should jointly take the decision about CJP's appointment. Regarding judicial reforms, he said that the treasury benches should take the other side into confidence as, otherwise, the opposition will be forced to bring its own proposals.