| Says ‘hurried’ nomination of ex-CJP Gulzar for caretaker PM ‘attempt to subvert Constitution’ | Asad Qaiser pens letter to Imran, Shehbaz for nominating interim PM
By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that the proposal of former CJP Gulzar Ahmed’s name for the office of the caretaker prime minister while the Supreme Court has yet to decide on the rejection of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan and the dissolution of the National Assembly was a “blatant attempt to subvert the Constitution”.
A day after National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Shah Suri threw out the no-trust motion and President Dr Arif Alvi dissolved the NA on advice of PM Imran Khan, Alvi wrote a letter to the prime minister and Shehbaz to propose names of suitable persons for appointment as caretaker premier under Article 224-A(1 )of the Constitution.
The premier had put forward Justice (retd) Gulzar Ahmed’s name for the post. Subsequently, the president wrote another letter to Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif, informing him of the nomination and asking him to either agree with it or present his own nominee by April 6.
“If no response is received within the stipulated time, the appointment of caretaker prime minister will be processed in accordance with the Constitution,” the letter read.
Earlier in the day, Shehbaz wrote a letter to the president, acknowledging that he received the letters on April 6 but also adding that the former CJP Gulzar’s name cannot be agreed upon while the previous setup’s status was still being debated in court.
“I may state at the very outset that the ruling of the Speaker regarding the Joint Opposition’s Resolution for a vote of no-confidence against the prime minister is a blatant violation of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, not to mention the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 2007,” it stated.
“The entire superstructure built thereon, including all consequential notifications relating to dismissal of the Resolution, advice of the Prime Minister regarding dissolution of the National Assembly, and continuation of Prime Minister in office are all illegal, without lawful authority and of no legal affect,” he contended.
Shehbaz pointed out the Supreme Court was still hearing the matter to decide the legality of the deputy speaker’s ruling and the subsequent actions and orders of the prime minister and the president.
He argued that the “hurried process” of proposing names for caretaker PM’s role was a “violation of the law and Constitution”.
Meanwhile Wednesday, Speaker of the outgoing National Assembly, Asad Qaiser wrote letters to PM Imran and Shehbaz to nominate four members from the Treasury under Article 224A(1) of the Constitution.
The law states that if the PM and Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing NA fail to agree upon a person to be appointed as the caretaker prime minister within three days of the dissolution of the NA, they will have to forward two names to a committee, which will be immediately constituted by the speaker.
“It will comprise eight members of the NA, or the Senate, or both, having equal representation in the treasury and the opposition, to be nominated by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition respectively,” it adds.
