Senate chairman summons session on Opposition's request

• Senate agenda also includes recently held GB polls, electricity and gas crisis
• Opposition had submitted the request once again after being turned down by secretariat 

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has summoned a session of the Upper House of Parliament for December 30 on the request of the Opposition.

The Opposition says it wants to discuss NAB's "political vendetta" against it. The agenda also includes discussions on the recently held Gilgit Baltistan elections and the electricity and gas crisis.

Opposition leader in the Senate Raja Zafar-ul-Haq said they had submitted a new request after the Senate Secretariat returned down the first one.

It was filed by the Opposition amid Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwala's tussle with the NAB chairman.

Read more: Under Constitution, PTI govt may be able to hold Senate polls in February

On Sunday, Mandviwalla had threatened that warrants can be issued to summon anyone before the Senate and if National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal does not appear before the Senate, warrants for him will be issued.

In a press conference, the senator had talked about the list of complaints the Senate has received from different people pertaining to NAB's maltreatment and the failure by political parties to improve the NAB ordinance when they had a chance.

The Senate deputy chairman said that NAB is intervening in everything now, including issues related to under-invoicing, and import and import cases, which is not its domain.

"The Senate has received a long list of complaints from businessmen in the United States and Canada, who said that they had to leave the country because NAB harassed them," he said.

Read more: Now Senate will hold NAB accountable, says Saleem Mandviwalla in hard-hitting press conference

He said that NAB has pervasively entered into Pakistan’s society. “NAB tortures people so much that they become helpless to do anything.”

“They force these helpless people to enter into a plea bargain," said the deputy Senate chairman, adding: "What does a businessman have to do with NAB’s work?