ISLAMABAD: The first directive National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq issued to a senior PML-N colleague after his election on Monday was to seek details from the Punjab government about alleged victimisation of a former federal secretary and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Dr Zafar Altaf.

The speaker issued the directive after senior PPP leader Nawab Yousuf Talpur warned the incoming PML-N government against repeating mistakes of victimising people on political grounds.

Speaking after the elections of the speaker and deputy speaker, Mr Talpur said that it had come to his knowledge that corruption cases were being registered against the 72-year-old bureaucrat who had served on important positions during the governments of the late Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

Mr Talpur said the Punjab government had earlier constituted a commission, headed by Justice Khalilur Rehman, to investigate the charges against Dr Altaf, but now he was being dragged to the courts on one pretext or the other. He called for formation of a commission to investigate the charges before initiating any action.

The PPP leader, who was also a candidate for the office of speaker but had withdrawn his nomination papers in line with his party’s decision, said if the policy of victimising “people of good repute” continued then it would not be considered a good start for the new government.

Taking notice of Mr Talpur’s remarks, Mr Sadiq asked a PML-N member Rana Tanveer, who was sitting in the front row in the assembly, to seek details of the cases from the Punjab government and present them before the house.