Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has ordered to amend the parliamentary procedure of issuing production orders that are necessary for a detained lawmaker to attend assembly sessions, a private media outlet reported Tuesday.
“Money launderers and financially corrupt individuals should not be facilitated via production orders,” the premier reportedly said while chairing a cabinet meeting to discuss corruption inquiries and the economic situation of the country.
Stating that people facing corruption inquiries cannot be awarded the status of political prisoners, PM Imran ordered the Law Ministry for further action and possible amendments to the law, reports said.
The move comes after National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser issued production orders for former president Asif Ali Zardari, who was arrested by the National Accountancy Bureau (NAB) last month.
Similarly, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Hamza Shehbaz and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Faryal Talpur were brought to the Punjab and Sindh assemblies, respectively, after the speakers concerned issued their production orders.
Earlier in the day, an appeal submitted to the Supreme Court (SC) also challenged the production orders of opposition leaders arrested over corruption allegations. The application challenged the production orders issued by speakers of the national and provincial assemblies.
The appeal also sought nullification of the production orders citing that such orders can’t be issued when the accused is under physical remand of a law enforcement agency.
