Speaker irked by FIA over failure to produce detained Punjab MPA

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Chauhdry Pervez Elahi on Friday was again irked by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as it failed to produce detained MPA Nazir Chohan of Jahangir Tareen’s like-minded group in the House for the second consecutive day even after his production orders were issued by the speaker on July 28.

The session ended after the recitation of Quran and Naat with no official business. Even the question-hour could not be taken up as Elahi categorically stated that the assembly session will not proceed until the detained MPA is produced in the House.

“The production order is not implemented as yet,” Elahi added.

The speaker adjourned the session to meet again on Monday at 2pm and the members supported and endorsed the decision of the speaker by tapping the desks.

Earlier, the session started after a delay of two hours from its scheduled time. Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Opposition Leader Hamza Shahbaz were absent from the House.

A day earlier on Thursday, Elahi had said that no legislation of the government will be passed this way. “The assembly session will be summoned daily and only the issue of Nazir Chohan will be taken up until he is not produced here,” he added.

Elahi snubbed the bureaucracy and officials for not producing the MPA in the House and was actually perturbed by this situation for the second consecutive day.

“I issued his production orders on July 28. Why was Chohan not produced in the House? Do they want a fight with the Parliament,” he asked on Thursday.

He also said that bureaucracy will not be allowed to breach the privilege of the assembly’s members and the lesson would be taught to them through a recently passed bill about the privileges of lawmakers.

Nazir Chohan was arrested by FIA on Wednesday and was sent on physical remand for two days on a complaint registered against him by the Prime Minister’s aide on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021