NA speaker declares Parliament Lodges of detained PTI MNAs as sub-jail

• NA speaker approves change in Parliament Lodges' status. 
• NA Secretariat issues notification for declaration of sub-jail.
• Sher Afzal Marwat, Amir Dogar among 10 arrested MNAs. 

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Friday declared the Parliament Lodges of 10 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers — who were arrested from parliament for allegedly violating new law related to public gathering — as sub-jail a day after issuing their production orders. 

The development comes after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared PTI members of National Assembly's (MNA) eight-day physical remand null and void in several cases linked to September 8 rally. 

A number of PTI leaders had been arrested in connection with several cases including the reported attack on police at Chongi No 26 — which turned into a battleground as PTI workers and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) clashed after the formers deviated from routes leading to Sangjani, venue of the party’s public gathering.

After the custodian of the lower house, Sadiq, granted the approval, the NA Secretariat issued a notification for the declaration of the Parliament Lodges of PTI parliamentarians as sub-jail. 

The MNAs whose lodges have been declared sub-jail include senior PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat, Malik Amir Dogar, Zain Qureshi, Naseem Shah, Ahmed Chattha, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Shoaib Shaheen, Syed Shah Ahad Ali Shah, Awais Haider Jhakar, Zubair Khan Wazir and Yousuf Khan. 

Earlier in the day, the IHC nullified the eight-day remand of the above mentioned PTI lawmakers in a case lodged at Sangjani Police Station related to attack on police personnel near Chongi No 26 area during the rally.

In the fresh crackdown, the LEAs and 'masked men' allegedly entered the Parliament House and whisked away at least 10 lawmakers of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party in a late night raid on September 10. 

The arrests drew scathing criticism not only from the former ruling party but the NA speaker as well as some members of the treasury benches.

Subsequently, Sadiq suspended five security staff, including the lower house of parliament's Sergeant at Arms Muhammad Ishfaq Ashraf, for four months over failure to ensure the house's security.

He also issued production orders of the PTI MNAs in police custody — Malik Aamir Dogar, Zain Hussain Qureshi, Waqas Akram, Sher Afzal Marwat, Muhammad Ahmed Chatta, Zubair Khan Wazir, Owais Haider Jakhar, Syed Shah Ahad Ali Shah, Naseem Ali Shah, and Muhammad Yusuf Khan.

Sadiq received massive praise after the federal capital police presented the arrested MNAs in the lower house of parliament on Thursday amid high security.