The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is going to file a reference against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Pakistan Today learnt on Wednesday.
MQM leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan, however, put the ball in the ECP’s court by saying that let the “independent” body decide the fate of any such reference.
The PML-N has recently made electoral alliance with the PML-Functional and the National People’s Party (NPP) in Sindh.
On Wednesday, the office-bearers of the PML-N, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the Sindh United Party (SUP) met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (r) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim.
The leaders included Liaquat Jatoi, Mamnoon Hussain, Irfanullah Marwat and Elahi Bukhsh Soomro of PML-N, Muhammad Hussain Mehanti of JI and Jalal Mehmood Shah of SUP.
After the meeting, Jatoi told reporters they had discussed issues ranging from the deployment of army at every polling station in Sindh to PML-N’s reservations over MQM’s sitting on opposition benches in the Sindh Assembly.
The PML-N leader said his party would file a reference in the ECP in a few hours against the MQM’s quest for “manipulating” the interim setup in Sindh through grabbing the leader of the opposition slot.
The 18th Amendment has made it mandatory for the government to take the leader of the opposition in the federal and provincial assemblies onboard while forming the interim setup. The reference, which according to Jatoi was to be filed within two hours of his presence at the EC Sindh office, could not be filed until the filing of this report.
However, PML-N leader SM Nehal Hashmi said that his party would file the reference. “I, however, have no idea whether or not they have finalised it,” he said.
It was Dr Badar Channa, another PML-N leader, who said the reference was in the making and would be tabled in the ECP on Thursday (today). He said his party lawyer was giving final touch to the document. To a question, Dr Channa said the reference would demand that the opposition leader’s seat in the Sindh Assembly be given to the “genuine” opposition led by the PML-F. “The MQM remained part and parcel of the government for four years and 11 months but is now sitting on the opposing benches to bring a favorable interim government,” he said. Asked if there was a legal or constitutional bar on what the MQM did, the PML-N leader replied in negative, saying the ground for his contention was rather logical. “There is no logic to do this,” he said. Dr Channa said his party would also discuss the matter with its electoral allies, the PML-F, the NPP and other like-minded parties like the JI.
MQM’s lawmaker Khawaja Izharul Hasan said the PML-N was afraid of going into polls as it first unanimously got the CEC appointed and was now making him controversial.
“Let the PML-N negate our position in their dreams, but MQM is a reality,” he said. The MQM leader said an “independent” ECP would decide the fate of PML-N’s reference. “PML-N through staging sit-ins and other actions is putting undue pressure on the Election Commission that we believe may risk transparency of election,” he added.