Government, facing resistance, pushes Islamabad LG Ordinance through NA

ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday narrowly escaped a defeat in the National Assembly (NA) on passage of a resolution extending the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 for a further period of 120 days with effect from 11th of this month. 

The treasury benches hardly managed to secure majority in the house as the resolution was carried by 75 votes to 69. The opposition benches demanded that the resolution should be decided through counting not by voice vote.

The opposition members raised voice of ‘rigging, rigging’, alleging that some members from treasury benches entered the hall when counting was in progress. The opposition objected to the resolution for the reason that the ordinance had lapsed on 11th of this month and it was being extended retrospectively.

The opposition leader Syed Khurshid Shah observed that elections of mayor and three deputy mayors of Islamabad which held on Monday were illegal as the polls were conducted after expiry of ordinance on February 11.

Naveed Qamar said passage of resolution, four days after expiry of ordinance would be violation of Article 89 of the Constitution which says that an ordinance could be extended by the NA through a resolution within 120 days of its promulgation.

Shireen Mazari of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), Asif Hasnain of MQM and Sher Akbar Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) also said the NA should not be asked to execute unconstitutional business. They said that elections of Mayor and Deputy Mayor held on Monday should be declared as null and void.

Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid who moved the resolution on behalf of Interior Minister said there had been two precedence of the past when resolutions were moved following expiry of ordinances.