Shafqat Mahmood calls out PPP for their ‘misplaced protest’ in NA over Durrani’s arrest

Amid the opposition's cries of 'black law' during National Assembly session on Thursday, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood called the protest of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) over the arrest of their leader Agha Siraj Durrani a 'misplaced protest'.

Speaking on the floor of the Parliament, PPP leader Khursheed Shah condemned the arrest of the Sindh Assembly speaker and said that the speaker was dragged and shoved in a vehicle. He said that Durrani's house had been searched for hours by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). He said they will protest the arrest and the treatment of their leader, adding that his party's protest should not be considered just 'mere war of words'.

Responding to Shah, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood said that the NAB was not working on the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan or on the current governments'. He said the previous governments had made the NAB laws and appointed the NAB chairman.

He further said that during the PPP's tenure, no amends had been made in the NAB law. Therefore, he said whatever was happening, it was NAB following the laws and rules that were made. He added that their own senior Punjab minister was arrested and the party too was upset about it. Mehmood added that the Parliament should not be dragged into this issue. He called the PPP's protest a 'misplaced protest', adding that they should take the issue to courts.

When it was Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Fehmida Mirza's turn to speak on the floor, the opposition created a rukus and gathered in front of National Speaker Asad Qaiser's desk. The session was adjourned till Friday.