‘I will not beg you: Khaqan Abbasi lashes out at NA speaker

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Lashing out at national Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday said that he had been attending the NA session not because of speaker's production orders but because of the court’s ruling. Speaking to the floor of NA, Kahqan Abbasi, after a long time on production order, said to the NA speaker, “I will not beg you for a production order and I am here on the court’s order,” he said. The NA speaker interrupted, saying he had not received any court verdict and that Abbasi was attending the sitting because of him. Abbasi disclosed that he had written three letters to the speaker seeking the issuance of production orders of all the jailed opposition members. “I will place your reply in the NA library for record which you had sent through a section officer telling me that only you have the powers to issue production orders,” he said. "You have asked me to go to the court. I have great respect for the chair even if you have no respect.  Abbasi noted that five members of the NA are currently in detention without conviction. “It is your duty to issue production orders of each and every member without discrimination at the start of each session,” he said. “Denying production orders means negation of people's rights.” Khaqan Abbasi demanded the production orders for Rana Sanaullah and walked out of the lower house. Responding to the former prime minister, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar defended the speaker and praised him for running the house strictly in accordance with the rules. “If you need any support from the government, we will provide you,” he told Qaiser, accusing the opposition of having double standards. “Sometimes they quote rules and sometimes they refer to the traditions, whichever suits them. They should decide once for all whether the house should be run under the rules or by following traditions,” he said of the opposition.