NA speaker should have been informed of Ali Wazir's arrest as per rules, says PPP lawmaker

PPP MNA Naveed Qamar on Tuesday raised the matter of the arrest of MNA Ali Wazir in the National Assembly, saying that according to the rules, the speaker should have been intimated of the latter's detention.

Wazir was arrested on Sunday after a clash between Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement activists and Army troops at a checkpost in North Waziristan in which three people were killed and 15 others injured ─ including five soldiers.

During a sitting of the lower house today, Qamar read out Rule 103 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in NA, 2007, according to which the speaker must be informed if a member of parliament is arrested. The speaker should then inform the members of parliament about the development, according to Rule 105. Qamar said that National Assembly members had come to know about Wazir's arrest through the media instead of being informed by the speaker as per procedure.

Rule 103 reads: When a member is arrested on a criminal charge or for a criminal offence or is sentenced to imprisonment by a court of law or is detained under an executive order, the committing judge, magistrate or executive authority, as the case may be, shall immediately intimate such fact to the Speaker indicating the reasons for the arrest, detention or conviction, as the case may be, as also the place of detention or imprisonment of the member in the appropriate form set out in the Fourth Schedule.

The speaker should then "read it out in the Assembly if in session or, if the Assembly is not in session, direct that it may be circulated for the information of the members", according to Rule 105.

It was not immediately clear whether the speaker had been informed of Wazir's arrest or not. Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, who presided over today's session, directed Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan to look into the matter.