Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
The upper house of parliament on Monday witnessed ruckus and uproar over non-issuing of production orders for PTI Senator Azam Swati. During Azam Nazeer Tarar’s speech in the Senate meeting, the opposition created a commotion and chanted slogans for Azam Swati’s production order.
Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani presided over the meeting. The chairman allowed to present the bill as the law minister requested the bill for foreign investment.
Subsequently, the PTI senators surrounded the chairman dais and protested and chanted slogans for Azam Swati’s release. Senate sergeants were called upon to control the uproar.
Furthermore, Pakistan People’s Party’s newly-appointed Senator Waqar Mehdi took oath. The chairman asked the PPP senators to stop chanting slogans in the upper house.
Earlier, the Senate passed the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Bill, 2022, paving the way for the reconstitution of a Reko Diq mining project. Main objective of the bill was to protect investors from unnecessary court proceedings. Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar on behalf of Minister for Finance and Revenue Mohammad Ishaq Dar moved the bill in the house which was part of the Senate’s supplementary agenda.
Chants of “Release Azam Swati” and “issue production orders” reverberated through the house as protesting PTI legislators gathered around Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani’s podium and registered their protest, while Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the proposed law.