Achakzai asked to stay silent over rift with Chaudhry Nisar: sources

ISLAMABAD: Speaker National Assembly requested Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai to refrain from expressing his views relating to Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar today, sources reported.

Speaker National Assembly sent a note saying “please no” to Mehmood Achakzai, sources said, following which the speaker read a presidential order adjourning the session for an indefinite period of time.

Mehmood Khan Achakzai had come to the National Assembly with documents to defend his statement regarding the Quetta blast, according to sources.

He reportedly had record of Chaudhry Nisar’s criticism of security agencies when he was opposition leader.

Achakzai had sparked fresh controversy earlier this month when, speaking on the floor of the National Assembly he had blamed the failure of the intelligence agencies for the deadly Quetta blast which claimed over 70 lives.

He had called for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to use the Quetta blast as a test case and give the civilian and military intelligence agencies a timeframe.

The Election Commission of Pakistan on Monday summoned Mehmood Achakzai on September 1 for his controversial outburst against the national security institutions.

The commission ordered issuance of a notice to the Balochistan-based Pakhtun nationalist leader in which he has been asked to explain his position before the Election Commission.

It is alleged that Achakzai during his recent speech after the Quetta terrorist attack tried to bring the national security institutions to disrepute.

The petitioner argued that his speech was in total negation of Article 19 of the Constitution, which bars criticism of the armed forces and other security institutions. He sought disqualification of Mehmood Achakzai, whose party is in the ruling coalition in Balochistan.