ISLAMABAD: The sudden death of an opposition lawmaker on Monday thwarted the government’s attempt to get the controversial elections amendment bill passed from the National Assembly.
But Speaker Ayaz Sadiq caused a stir when he informed the house he had been unable to trace another opposition member, who was abducted by unknown armed men near Gujranwala last week, further complicating matters.
The speaker had uttered similar words on Friday, when opposition members raised the issue of the alleged kidnapping of the PTI-backed MNA from Mandi Bahauddin, Haji Imtiaz Ahmed. PM Shehbaz Sharif had also assured the opposition on the floor of the house that he would personally look into the matter.
“I had previously shared with Aamer Dogar [chief whip of the PTI] that according to the reply I have received, he [Hajid Imtiaz] is neither in the custody of police nor of the anti-corruption [department],” said the speaker in response to PTI members’ speeches urging him to play his role in recovering the missing MNA as the custodian of the house.
However, the speaker did not disclose who had provided him with the written reply.
The issue was first raised by Leader of the Opposition Omer Ayub Khan and then by PTI MNAs Aamer Dogar and Latif Khosa when they were given the floor to offer condolences over the death of their colleague, Rahimyar Khan MNA Mumtaz Mustafa, who had passed away a couple of hours before start of the assembly session due to heart attack at the Parliament Lodges.
“Mr Speaker, our colleague in this house has been declared an enforced disappeared person,” said the opposition leader while displaying a portrait of Haji Imtiaz. Mr Khan said Haji Imtiaz had not been taken into custody by the police, and claimed to have received reports that the MNA was being subjected to torture.
“Who is torturing him, intelligence agencies or anybody else? The responsibility lies on you Mr Speaker as custodian of the house,” said the opposition leader.
He also declared former prime minister Imran Khan a “political prisoner”, stating that the PTI founder and his spouse Bushra Bibi had been convicted in a “bogus” Toshakhana case, exactly one year ago on Aug 5.
