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Tuesday March 19, 2024

PTI MPA challenges Ch Nisar’s PunjabPA membership

January 09, 2019

LAHORE: Alarm bells have started to ring for veteran politician from Chakri, former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan after his Punjab Assembly membership has been challenged by one of the PTI MPA Momna Waheed through a resolution.

Momna Waheed, the PTI woman MPA who herself belongs to region of Potohar, through a resolution submitted in Punjab Assembly Secretariat, has demanded amendment to the Rules of Procedures Punjab Assembly to de-seat Ch Nisar for his constant absence from the PA session.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who has the record of getting elected MNA for 8th terms from 1985 to 2013, lost the 2018 polls from his home district, Rawalpindi at the hands of PTI’s Ghulam Sarwar Khan. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, however, got elected MPA from PP-10 while getting around 37,000 votes but since August when first session of the Punjab Assembly was held, he is yet to take oath as the PA member.

Talking to The News, Momna Waheed stated that Chaudhry Nisar hadn’t taken oath as the member of Punjab Assembly for 90 days and it clearly indicated the level of respect he had been showing to this August House.

She stated that at one hand, there had been slogans of ‘show respect to vote’ whereas a person who got over 37,000 votes from a seat hadn’t bothered to attend a single session or even taken oath.

She said that Chaudhry Nisar had held many federal ministries, important positions and it was evident from his attitude that he wasn’t willing to show any respect to his voters or Punjab Assembly.

The News contacted Secretary Punjab Assembly to discuss the issue related to the de-seating of Chaudhry Nisar Ali. Muhammad Khan Bhatti, while talking to The News stated that so far he hadn’t received any resolution demanding de-seating of Chaudhry Nisar and he couldn’t comment on it unless he received it.

However, he stated that Punjab Assembly rules were silent about the de-seating of any member on the absence. When asked whether the Assembly secretariat had received any request of leave from Chaudhry Nisar, he replied with ‘not yet.’

This is noteworthy that as per Punjab Assembly Rules of Procedures 36 (1) ‘If a member has been absent without leave of the Assembly for 40 consecutive days of its sittings, the Speaker shall bring the fact to the notice of the Assembly and thereupon any member may move that the seat of the member who has been so absent be declared vacant.’

Rule number 36(2) says that ‘on consideration of the motion moved under sub-rule (1), the Assembly may defer, reject or accept the motion and if the motion is accepted, the seat of the member shall be declared vacant, provided that no such motion shall be considered before the expiry of seven days from the date on which the motion was moved.

In the current situation, Momna Waheed claimed that Ch Nisar could be de-seated.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s woman legislator Uzma Kardar submitted a resolution in PA Secretariat hailed the support of Prime Minister of Norway towards Pakistan’s stance in solution of the Kashmir issue as per UN Resolution. Uzma, through another resolution, also hailed the initiatives taken by the PTI government for ensuring a clean, green Pakistan and steps to protect wildlife, including the endangered species.

Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat while speaking on the Production Orders of the detained MPA Khawaja Salman Rafique stated that a month extension had been granted to the committee formed over the issue. Raja Basharat while speaking on the floor of the House said that there had been no law for the Production Orders of an MPA in Punjab and the Ministry of Law, Parliamentary Affairs had constituted a committee to prepare a draft for the issuance of the Production Orders.

The law minister stated that duration of the committee formed over the issue of Khawaja Salman Rafique’s Production Order was expiring but one month extension had been granted to it.