ISLAMABAD: Praising the National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq for adeptly handling the Parliament House crisis following the arrests of lawmakers, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said he played his role in mitigating the chaos that could have consequently ensued.
The minister's statement comes after the NA speaker took action against the September 8 arrests of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members from the premises of the parliament and constituted a committee to address issues related to its smooth functioning.
"If [former NA speaker] Asad Qaiser had protected the sanctity of the National Assembly and the democratic rights of its members [in the past], then perhaps the supremacy of the Parliament would not have been undermined and compromised like this," said the defence minister,comparing the sagacity of Sadiq to that of PTI leader and former NA speaker Asad Qaiser.
“Atmosphere of the House would not have been so bitter, if Asad Qaiser had issued the production order of the jailed [assembly] members like Ayaz Sadiq did,” he said, adding even dictators would not have inflicted as much damage upon the constitutional institutes in comparison to that wreaked during the PTI's tenure.
Asif said the former prime minister possessed a dictator's mentality. The Constitution and institution held no respect before him, instead they were bound by his wishes, he said.
The minister, a day earlier, termed the arrival of masked persons and the entry of the police into the Parliament House shameful and "a violation of the sanctity of the House".
Speaking on the floor of the lower house on Wednesday about the issuance of production orders, he said: “I have no objection if the speaker issues the production order of the arrested MNAs.”
NA Speaker Sadiq on Wednesday constituted an 18-member special committee, in the aftermath of the arrests of the PTI lawmakers from within the Parliament House.
The committee will discuss, analyse and firm up recommendations concerning the issues related to parliament, parliamentarians, Constitution, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007 and smooth functioning of parliament, The News reported.
According to a circular issued by the National Assembly Secretariat, the committee will include federal ministers Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Abdul Aleem Khan, Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah and Syed Naveed Qamar, Syed Aminul Haq, Muhammad Ejazul Haq, Khalid Hussain Magsi, Sahibzada Muhammad Hamid Raza, Gohar Ali Khan, Shahida Begum, Muhammad Akhtar Mengal, Hameed Hussain and Mahmood Khan Achakzai.
The NA Secretariat circular read, "In pursuance of motion adopted by the National Assembly on 11th September 2024, under Rule 244(B) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, the honourable speaker, National Assembly has been pleased to constitute a special committee."
It is pertinent to mention here that the resolution, tabled by Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, had called for the constitution of a parliamentary committee comprising MNAs from both treasury and opposition benches to discuss, analyse and propose recommendations regarding issues related to parliament and its smooth functioning.
The speaker had also suspended the House's Sergeant at Arms and four other security officials for the security lapse which saw lawmakers being allegedly arrested by the Islamabad police and masked men from within the NA's premises.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, speaking during the NA session on Wednesday, recalled PTI founder Imran Khan's premiership and lamented the denial of production orders by then-speaker Asad Qaiser regarding the opposition's lawmakers of the time.
The PTI government didn't issue production orders for our members during its tenure, Sadiq said.
However, he maintained that "two wrongs did not make a right" and remarked: "I do not agree with your [PTI] government's actions. Not issuing production orders was not the right thing to do then [and] it is not the right thing to do now".
"I will do what is appropriate, what is required and what is necessary for [upholding] the parliament's respect," he added.
The speaker further said that he would try to get to the bottom of what happened.
A committee shall be constituted so that the work commences from the same day, Sadiq had remarked while inviting PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar to meet him after the assembly's session is adjourned.