Heated arguments and exchange of accusations between government and opposition lawmakers were seen in the National Assembly on Tuesday following the arrest of PTI MNAs last night from from Islamabad, including the parliament premises. In a fiery speech on the floor of the lower house on Tuesday, PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan, who appeared emotionally charged, lambasted the arrests of his fellow party leaders. “Today, I am making a case on democracy,” he said. “Last night, what happened to democracy and to this parliament. We are not in Israel, we are in Pakistan.” Addressing NA speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Khan said: “Your colleagues Sahibzada [Hamid Raza], Shafqat [Awan], Amir Dogar, Shiekh Waqar [Akram] and Maulana Naseem were seeking shelter in this parliament last night [when they were arrested]. Maulana Naseem was picked up from a mosque. “While what happened on 9 May was wrong, what happened last night was 9 May for Pakistan’s democracy,” Khan said.

“This date (September 9) will be remembered in Pakistan’s history. It is filled with Liaquat Ali Khan, Bhutto’s execution, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s blood and gunshots at Imran Khan’s body. “Last night, not from India, Israel or America but [people] from the institutions of my own country [made the arrests]. Who were those veiled people who entered [the Parliament] and took our people away?” “This is an attack on democracy and on Pakistan’s constitution,” Khan said, before adding: “I am making a demand on behalf of the Constitution as I am in the parliament, on the basis of 250 million people, as Imran Khan’s soldier.” “This attack is not on Imran Khan, Amir Dogar, Waqar or anyone. “It is an attack on you,” Khan said while addressing the NA speaker, “on Shehbaz Sharif, on Bilawal Bhutto and on politics.”

Credit: Independent News Pakistan