'PTI's Ejaz Chaudhry barred from senate on CM Maryam's orders'

ISLAMABAD: Former PML-N leader Muhammad Zubair claimed that the incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senator Ejaz Chaudhry was barred from entering the Senate on the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, ARY News reported.

Speaking in ARY News program “The Reporters”, Zubair said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is divided in two groups, with one group, led by Maryam Nawaz, Talal Chaudhry and Khawaja Asif is opposed to giving any space to the PTI, and another group, led by Irfan Siddiqui, is more open to engagement.

Muhammad Zubair further said that Maryam Nawaz has taken a tough stance against PTI and Ejaz Chaudhry’s entry into the Senate was deliberately blocked to send a strong message to the PTI.

The comments came after the government failed to produce Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Ejaz Chaudhary in the upper house of the Parliament on the maiden day of its 345th session despite the issuance of his production order by Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Also read: PTI founder ‘announces’ Black Day on Feb 8 across Pakistan

Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, currently imprisoned at Kot Lakhpat Jail, has had previous production orders issued.

Last March, he was scheduled to appear in the Senate but was unable to attend. Additionally, in November, Chaudhry, along with 21 other PTI figures, was formally indicted by a Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court in connection with the May 9, 2023, countrywide riots.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Shibli Faraz, expressed disappointment over Chaudhry’s 1.5-year incarceration in a Lahore jail, stating his concern as a colleague.