Senate Deputy Chairman Mirza Muhammad Afridi has issued directives for the issuance of production orders for incarcerated PTI leader Ejaz Chaudhry.

Speaking in the Senate today, PTI’s Ali Zafar noted that the presidential election was due tomorrow and that it was Chaudhry’s right to cast a vote.

Zafar said that the jailed PTI leader had been behind bars for months in cases pertaining to the May 9 riots that followed ex-premier Imran Khan’s arrest.

“Inclusion of Ejaz Chaudhry in the Senate session is necessary,” Zafar said, adding that it would be “shameful” if the Upper House could not summon a senator for the presidential election. “Why should we seek help from the courts for this?” he asked.

Stating that Chaudhry was ill and facing liver problems, the PTI senator demanded that a medical board be formed and the jailed politician’s check-up be conducted at the Pakistan Insitute of Medical Sciences.

Subsequently, Afridi ordered the issuance of the production order, noting, “It is Ejaz Chaudhry’s right that he cast a vote in the presidential elections.”