–Khawaja Asif says Opp parties will have no option but to approach SC over legality of Thursday’s legislation if House failed to provide justice
–Defence Minister Pervez Khattak says Opp should convince JUI-F’s Fazl to come to table for talks
–JUI-F’s Asad Mahmood and PTI’s Ali Gandapur dare each other to resign from NA and contest fresh election
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Friday submitted a no-confidence motion against National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri on Friday for “violating the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business 2007” for facilitating passage of government bills without any debate the other day.
The no-trust vote submitted by PML-N lawmakers Khawaja Asif, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha and Muhammad Sajjad stated that the deputy speaker had lost the trust of the House after the action.
“We moved Resolution under Article 53(7)(c) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan against Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan for violating the rules of business of the House,” read the resolution.
A total of 15 bills, including 13 presidential ordinances, were tabled by the government on Thursday.
The bills passed during the session had included the Legal Aid and Justice Authority Ordinance 2019, the Superior Courts (Court Dress and Mode of Address) Order (Repeal) Ordinance 2019, the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment) Ordinance 2019, the National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance 2019, Medical Bill 2019 and Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance 2019.
Asif, one of the movers of the resolution, also warned that the opposition parties would knock on the Supreme Court’s door for a legal interpretation of the constitution to decide whether the government’s move to pass almost a dozen bills without holding a debate was in accordance with the law.
As the NA session resumed on Friday, Asif criticised the government’s “total disregard” of the opposition’s reservations on proposed laws, saying: “A person, who comes to power through free and fair elections, […] would never sit on this seat and do what was done here yesterday. This House is ashamed.”
He cautioned that “democracy would be ruined” if the government kept this attitude. The PML-N leader also criticised members of the ruling party and said: “It is because of this naivety that Niazi sahib has to listen to taunts”.
He further said that the hasty passage of bills by the assembly was not a “good omen”. “Our federation cannot survive without democracy,” said Asif. “Democracy is the only relation that has kept this federation intact.”
He urged National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to “become an advocate for democracy and the supremacy of the House” instead of one party.
He also demanded the PTI to account for the funds it allegedly received from other countries.
“These thieves have been caught today […] They took money from Indians. There is proof [that] money was taken through offshore companies,” he declared amid protests of the members of the treasury benches.
The case is pending at the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Earlier, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak had accused the opposition of “not obeying the law”, as he went on to defend the bills, saying promulgation of ordinances was allowed in the constitution.
“They (opposition parties) talk about democracy [but] they are not even ready to listen,” Khattak said, adding that opposition parties should convince Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to “come to the table” in order to resolve his grievances.
He said the people of Pakistan rejected the opposition parties in general elections and that they should accept voters’ verdict.
Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur said he is ready to vacate his seat to contest by-election against JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. He also urged Maulana Fazlur Rehman to end his sit-in and contest in “by-election to prove his popularity”.
In his response, JUI-F leader Assad Mahmood said he was ready to tender his resignation if Ali Amin Gandapur resigned from the assembly.