–PPP chief says absolutely necessary in view of grave and far-reaching implications of arrest on terror charges
–Says Ali Wazir lost 12 family members in fight against terrorism
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday wrote a letter to National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and urged him to immediately issue production orders of lawmakers Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar.
Both lawmakers, hailing from South and North Waziristan, were detained by the security forces in the aftermath of Kharqamar incident. The army accuses them of leading an alleged attack on its checkpost. Whereas, Dawar claims the army fired upon peaceful protesters.
In the face of the contradictory accounts of the incident, the PPP chief asked the speaker for production orders of the lawmakers so that they could come to the lower house and take it into confidence as to what happened to them at the hands of the law enforcing agencies.
Bilawal said he will write another letter on the “grave political and security dimensions of the issue” as the current letter only sought issuance of production orders of the two MNAs.
Wazir was arrested on Sunday immediately after the incident. In the letter, Bilawal said: “It is almost a week since Ali Wazir, an honorable member of the House of which you are the custodian, was arrested on May 26, charged with terrorism and given in the custody of counter-terrorism authorities on physical remand for eight days.”
“Furthermore, it has just been reported that MNA Mohsin Dawar sought by law enforcing agencies has appeared before police in Bannu in connection with FIR filed against him and it is not known whether he has been arrested or not,” the letter stated. Moshin Dawar has been arrested and sent on an 8-day remand.
The purpose of writing this letter is to request the speaker to immediately issue production orders of MNAs Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar provided under the rules of the National Assembly.
“This is absolutely necessary, indeed critical, in view of the grave and far-reaching implications of the arrest on charges of terrorism of the honorable members of the House, who have actually been fighting terrorism,” the letter said, adding nearly a “dozen family members of Wazir have been martyred in fight against terrorism, and it is highly worrying to charge him and Mohsin Dawar with terrorism.”