Pak NA speaker declares Parliament Lodges as sub-jail for arrested lawmakers of former PM Imran Khan's party

Islamabad: The speaker of Pakistan's national assembly has declared the Parliament Lodges here as sub-jail for jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party's lawmakers who were arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act and newly imposed Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024.

On the other hand, Dawn News reported that the Islamabad High Court set aside the physical remand of the 10 arrested PTI lawmakers and sent them to jail on judicial remand.

“I am directed to refer to the production order issued on September 11 by the national assembly speaker with respect to the 10 PTI lawmakers arrested recently to enable them to attend the sitting of 9th Session of National Assembly... The speaker has been pleased to declare the Parliament Lodges in Islamabad as sub-jail for their custody after each assembly sitting,” a National Assembly Secretariat official said in a letter to the secretary of the Interior Ministry on Friday.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers who were arrested on different charges following the party's public gathering at Sangjani were Sher Afzal Khan, Malik Mohammad Aamir Dogar, Mohammad Ahmed Chattha, Makhdoon Zain Hussain Qureshi, Waqas Akram, Zubair Khan Wazir, Awais Haider Jakhar, Syed Shah Ahad Ali Shah, Nasim Ali Shah, and Yousaf Khan.

Police officials said the MNAs were detained at the suites allocated to them at the Parliament Lodges.

These MNAs were arrested in connection with cases registered at Sangjani and Noon police stations under several charges, the officials said.

There are no special arrangements and deployment in and outside the sub-jails as police were already present there, the officials said, adding that services of the available police officers were being utilised.

They said that under the written directives of the speaker issued to the interior secretary, the suites were declared sub-jail, and so far any necessary notification in this regard was yet to be issued from the capital administration or police.