Production issue of Saad Rafique: Opposition boycotts NA proceedings in protest

ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties failing to get production orders of the PML-N parliamentarian Khawaja Saad Rafique from custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) staged walk out of proceedings of the National Assembly on Monday evening.

The government benches narrowly escaped premature adjournment as opposition parties while walking out of the House also attempted to disrupt proceedings when PML-N member Shaikh Muhammad Fayyaz pointed out lack of quorum. On counting, the treasury benches managed to complete quorum with the margin of three members.

The Speaker adjourned proceedings of the House till Thursday as soon as Abdul Qadar Patel of PPP wanted to point out lack of quorum.

Earlier, the opposition leader Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and other opposition members Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Amir Haider Hoti separately demanded of the Speaker to issue production orders of Khawaja Saad Rafique so that he could attend proceedings of the House.

Shahbaz Sharif while observing that the Speaker was conducting proceedings while remaining above from political affiliation but the opposition was still waiting production orders of Saad Rafique. “Kindly issue production otherwise we will stage walkout,” he said.

Amir Haider Hoti of Awami National Party (ANP) also asked Speaker to issue production orders of the PML-N parliamentarian. He also quoted past precedents saying that production orders of Asif Zardari and Shaikh Rashid Ahmad were also issued despite the fact that the then Prime Ministers opposed issuance of orders from the Speaker.

The Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari shook hands and exchanged view briefly while staging walkout from the House. Shahbaz Sharif also briefly stopped his speech and welcomed Asif Zardari when he was entering the National Assembly hall.

Meanwhile, the government introduced the Elections (Amendment) Act, 2018 seeking formation of more than one benches of the Election Commission to effectively dispose of complaints and appeals.

The House also allowed changes in concerned rules of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007 for playing of National Anthem after recitation from the Holy Quran and ‘Naat’ at start of proceedings of the House every day.

The government also laid before the National Assembly the report of the Federal Accounts for the financial year 2016-2017 and the reports of the Auditor General thereon for Audit year 2017-2018 as required by Article 171 of the Constitution.