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Tuesday March 19, 2024

De-seating of PTI MNAs demanded

Voting deferred till next Tuesday; Khursheed Shah says PML-N .... will remain in govt for 10 years if it follows in PPP’s footsteps; Dar says govt desires no voting on the two motions, will try to convince JUI-F and MQM to reach an amicable solution; Qureshi wants immediate decision instead of prolonging the issue

By our correspondents
July 29, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday deferred voting till next Tuesday on two identical motions seeking to de-seat PTI members for remaining absent from the lower house of parliament for 40 consecutive days while they were staging a sit-in in the federal capital.
The consideration of two motions, already moved by the MQM member Salman Khan Baloch and JUI-F’s Naeema Kishwar, was on the agenda of proceedings for Tuesday.The motions read: “The seats of members of PTI be declared as vacant under Clause (2) of Article 64 of the Constitution, who were absent without leave of the Assembly for 40 consecutive days of its sitting.”
Speaking on a point of order, Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed Shah said the issue of motions should be taken up on Tuesday. He advised the PML-N government to follow in the footsteps of the PPP if it wanted to complete five years in power.
“You will remain in the government for 10 years if you follow in our footsteps,” he said, adding, “We also helped out the government by convincing the PTI to end its sit-in in three days.”
PTI’s Deputy Parliamentary Leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi, however, wanted an immediate decision on the motions instead of prolonging the issue.Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar insisted that the issue should be deferred and time should be given for consultations.
Dar said the solution to the issue should be found out through consultations. He said it would be the government’s effort that no voting was held on the two motions.“I will have to convince Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Abdul Rasheed Godel to reach an amicable solution,” he said.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said if the majority of members voted against his party’s members, then they would go home.However, he appreciated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision to move ahead instead of indulging himself in unnecessary issues.
He said it was the government’s desire that the PTI members should play their role inside parliament. He also praised the National Assembly Speaker for running the house properly.Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Senator Ishaq Dar also talked decently but one of the government members while talking to the media said they could throw the PTI members out of parliament whenever they wanted. “It is better to decide the motions today instead of delaying the matter,” he said.
Khursheed Shah said he had talked to Maulana Fazlur Rehman adding that deferring the motions would create many doubts. “If the motions are not taken up today, then they may be included in the agenda for tomorrow,” he said.
However, Abdul Rashid Godel and Kanwar Naveed Jamil of the MQM said the PTI remained absent from the house for 40 consecutive days. “The sanctity of the house can be maintained only if it is run according to law and rules,” they said, adding that the PTI members should resign and contest the by-election to return to parliament.
Naeema Kishwar said her party did not accept the PTI people as members of the National Assembly. “The PTI members who were obtaining stay orders against Speaker Ayaz Sadiq are now on his stay order,” she said.
Mehmood Khan Achakzai said the MQM should also tender an apology for serving food to Dr. Tahirul Qadri and his workers.On that, Shaikh Rohail Asghar of PML-N commented that Dr Tahirul Qadri had returned when he suffered food poisoning after taking food from the MQM.
On Senator Ishaq Dar’s suggestion, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq deferred both the motions till next Tuesday.Dar also presented the Inquiry Commission’s report in the house on the alleged rigging in the General Elections 2013 for discussion.He also presented in the house a copy of the agreement reached between the government and the PTI on the constitution of the Inquiry Commission.