National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Tuesday demanded the immediate release of all Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNAs arrested from the premises of Parliament House a day earlier, as he censured the Islamabad police chief for the incident.
“You cannot arrest anyone from the Parliament House or lodges,” he told the Islamabad Inspector General of Police. “These parliamentarians should be released immediately,” he said, adding he was very “saddened” by the footage of the arrests he had seen.
Earlier, after the Lower House saw fiery debate on the issue, with PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan protesting the “death” of democracy. Stressing he was not speaking out for his leader, Imran Khan, but rather democracy as a whole, he demanded action against those responsible under Article 6.
In his own remarks, the speaker had said he would not remain silent on the arrests. “Whatever happened in Parliament will have to be protested. I have ordered [recovery of] all the videos,” he said, and sought a meeting with the leaders of all parliamentary parties in his chamber.
If necessary, he stressed, he would “file a case against those involved in yesterday’s incident.” He then issued summons to the IG Islamabad, DIG operations and senior superintendent of police (SSP) operations.
Leaders of other parties, including the PPP, MQM-P and the PMLN also sought investigation into the incident. However, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the PTI should expect a “reaction” over the remarks uttered by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur against institutions.
On Monday night, in quick succession, Islamabad police arrested PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan and MNA Sher Afzal Marwat from outside Parliament House, followed by arrests of several PTI leaders from within Parliament House, where they were in hiding out of fear of incarceration.
According to the FIR filed against the lawmakers, they violated the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024, and are alleged to have assaulted police personnel during the Sanjgani rally on Sunday.