close
Tuesday March 19, 2024

Salman Rafique attends session as production order issued

By Faizan Bangash
January 16, 2019

LAHORE: Khawaja Salman Rafique, the Punjab Assembly member detained by NAB Tuesday attended the PA session after Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi issued his production order.

The production order of Salman, an MPA of PML-N who is under NAB custody these days, was issued by the PA Speaker after the House amended its Rules of Procedures 79 in its sitting on Monday.

Previously, Punjab Assembly Speaker, unlike the NA Speaker and the Speakers of other assemblies didn’t have the powers to summon any under-custody MPA. In this way, Khawaja Salman Rafique has become the first MPA of Punjab to receive production order.

Khawaja Salman, whose elder brother MNA Khawaja Saad Rafique is also in the NAB custody, reached assembly amid thumping of desks and slogans chanted by his party members in the House.

Addressing the PA session, Khawaja Salman Rafique expressed his gratitude to Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Law Minister Raja Basharat, his party and entire House for extending support in the issuance of his production order.

Khawaja Salman Rafique stated that the entire nation was looking at the parliament and it was mandatory on its members to strengthen it.

He said the issuance of his production order was in fact the victory of this assembly and urged the institutions to work in their constitutional ambit. He said that previous governments didn’t do any legislation regarding NAB but it should be done now. He went on to say that he was never willing to see PTI in a situation but other parties were undergoing currently adding his party leadership was facing detention and it was time to strengthen institutions.

Sharing his experience regarding custody in NAB, he told PA that these days he was writing autobiography in detention and going through books related to various historical figures. He said that we all must focus on the issues like CPEC, Gwadar, dams, and there must be a national roadmap meant to unite all parties on the agenda related to the interest of the country. He said every political party had rendered sacrifices for Pakistan adding he still wanted to use the term ‘East Pakistan’ for Bangladesh.

Former Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan and senior Opposition member Malik Nadim Kamran thanked the PA Speaker for issuing the production order. Law Minister Basharat Raja stated that Prime Minister Imran Khan must also be credited for this.

Later, Khawaja Salman Rafique along with a delegation of PML-N MPAs called on PA Speaker in his chamber and thanked him for issuing the production order. The Opposition MPAs who met the Speaker included Khawaja Imran Nazir, Samiullah Khan whereas Deputy Speaker Mir Dost Muhammad Mazari and Provincial Minister Dr Akhter Malik were also present. Moreover, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, PA Speaker while talking to media outside the Punjab Assembly stated that the production order of Khawaja Salman had been issued and he could attend the assembly session now. He stated that it was a historic moment as all assemblies other than Punjab had the powers to issue production order.

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Law Minister Raja Basharat were consulted over this matter adding the entire House, including the government and the Opposition deserved this credit. He also said that a step had been taken to strengthen the parliament.