| Speaker terms motion contradictory to Article 5 | Says no foreign power shall be allowed to topple an elected govt through a conspiracy | Opposition refuses to leave NA, calls ruling ‘illegal’ | Deputy Attorney General announces resignation | PM to remain in office for 15 days | President dissolves NA over PM’s advice
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: In a shock move, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri on Sunday dismissed the no-trust move against Prime Minister Imran Khan, terming it against Article 5 of the Constitution.
Suri chaired yesterday’s session after opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against Speaker Asad Qaiser.
According to Article 5: Loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen. Obedience to the Constitution and law is the [inviolable] obligation of every citizen wherever he may be and of every other person for the time being within Pakistan.
However, that was not the only surprise of the day for the opposition.
Shortly after the no-trust motion was dismissed, the prime minister announced that he had advised the president to dissolve the NA under Article 58 and asked the nation to prepare for fresh elections.
Taking the floor shortly after the NA session began, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that loyalty to the state was the basic duty of every citizen under Article 5(1). He reiterated the premier’s earlier claims that a foreign conspiracy was behind the move to oust the government. “On March 7, our official ambassador was invited to a meeting attended by the representatives of other countries. The meeting was told that a motion against PM Imran was being presented,” he said, noting that this occurred a day before the opposition formally filed the no-trust move.
“We were told that relations with Pakistan were dependent on the success of the no-confidence motion. We were told that if the motion fails, then Pakistan’s path would be very difficult. This is an operation for a regime change by a foreign government,” he alleged.
The minister questioned how this could be allowed and called on the deputy speaker to decide the constitutionality of the no-trust move.
Suri noted that the motion was presented on March 8 and should be according to the law and the Constitution. “No foreign power shall be allowed to topple an elected government through a conspiracy,” he said, adding that the points raised by the minister were “valid”.
He dismissed the motion, ruling that it was “contradictory” to the law, the Constitution and the rules. The session was later prorogued.
The military distanced itself with the political developments in the country. “Army has nothing to do with the political process,” Major General Babar Iftikhar, the head of the military’s public relations wing, told Reuters in response to a question about the institution’s involvement in Sunday’s developments.
Opposition parties, angered by the NA proceedings, decided to hold their own mock session in the lower house of parliament with PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq sitting on the speaker’s seat.
During the mock proceedings, 195 lawmakers voted in favour of the no-confidence motion, according to PPP’s Sherry Rehman.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif termed Sunday’s developments as “nothing short of high treason”.
“Imran Khan has pushed the country into anarchy. Niazi and his cohort will not be allowed to go scot-free. There will be consequences for [the] blatant and brazen violation of the Constitution. Hope the Supreme Court will play its role to uphold the Constitution,” he said.
Speaking to the media in parliament after the NA session, PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari said the ruling by the deputy speaker was “totally illegal” and that the Constitution did not allow the dissolution of assemblies at this stage.
With regards to the dismissal of the no-confidence motion, he said, “The court has sat down. Let’s see what it says.”
He added that “we are prepared for everything … even for elections”.
To a question whether the opposition the deputy speaker’s ruling coming, Zardari replied, “Yes … but one has to go along with what their friends have thought of.”
PPP Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari said that the government had violated the Constitution by not allowing voting to take place on the no-confidence motion.
“The united opposition is not leaving Parliament. Our lawyers are on their way to Supreme Court. We call on ALL institutions to protect, uphold, defend and implement the Constitution of Pakistan.”
PPP’s Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar termed the government’s move a “blatant violation” of the Constitution and the rules.
“The Supreme Court cannot and should not sit by as a mere spectator. The chief justice should immediately take to the bench and save the country from a constitutional crisis!”
In another tweet, he said that a petition was being prepared by party leaders Farooq Naek and Raza Rabbani. “We should be at the Supreme Court registrar’s office no later than 3:30pm,” he said.
PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that no one could be allowed to “distort” the Constitution for the sake of saving their seat. “If this crazy fanatic is not punished for this crime, then the law of the jungle will prevail in the country after today!”
PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal said PM Imran had proven to the world that he did not possess even an “iota” of decency, grace and honour.
“Having lost the majority in National Assembly, [he] chooses to bulldoze constitution. He will be defeated with unprecedented humiliation in history,” he said.
Later in the day, PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been de-notified as the prime minister of Pakistan, a statement from the Cabinet Division said Sunday after the dissolution of the National Assembly.
But under Article 224 of the Constitution of Pakistan — once a notification is issued — Imran Khan can continue as the prime minister for 15 days till the appointment of a caretaker prime minister.
There there is still, however, no clarity over how a caretaker prime minister will be appointed as the National Assembly has been dissolved — and the people who appoint the person, Opposition leader in the National Assembly and the premier, are no longer in office.
If Imran Khan continues to be the prime minister for selected days, he will not be empowered to make decisions that an elected head of the government can make.
“Consequent upon dissolution of the National Assembly by the president of Pakistan, in terms of Article 58(1) read with Article 48(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, vide Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs’ SRO No. 487(1)/2022, dated 3rd April, 2022, Mr Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi ceased to hold the Office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, with immediate effect,” said the notification from the Cabinet Division.
The denotification of Imran Khan comes hours after ex-deputy speaker of the NA Qasim Suri abruptly dismissed the no-confidence motion against the PTI chairman and termed it “unconstitutional”, saying that it was backed by “foreign powers”.
Meanwhile, Amir Liaquat announced his decision to quit the PTI and called on Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to restore the National Assembly and ensure voting on the no-trust motion.
Separately, Deputy Attorney General of Pakistan Raja Khalid Mahmood Khan announced his resignation over Sunday’s NA proceedings.
Lashing out at the government, he said that it was a “clear abrogation of the Constitution” and fell under Article 6, which deals with treason.
