Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The former prime minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, after having received zero response from NA speaker Asad Qaiser to whom Abbasi had requested a production order four weeks ago, on Friday refused to attend the national assembly (NA) sessions even if his production orders are issued.
According to detail, Abbasi penned a letter to Qaiser in which he regretted that it has been four weeks since he sent him a letter reminding him of his responsibility to issue production orders for imprisoned members of NA (MNAs).
“I regret that I have not received a response to my letter,” former PM wrote. Abbasi, who has been in official custody since July 18, grieved production orders were neither issued for the joint parliamentary address by the president nor for the last session of the NA.
He slammed, “Your inability to facilitate MNAs, to discharge their constitutional duties, is a violation of the basic principles of democracy and the traditions of parliament.” Abbasi educated that the NA speaker cannot be a party to the arbitrary and discriminate denial of access to the lower house.
“The production orders must be issued to protect the sovereignty of parliament, however, in order to protect the dignity of the office of the speaker from pressures exerted by the government, I will voluntarily not attend the proceedings of the lower house after the production orders are issued,” he culminated. – Agencies
